A Date With Nic Sheff

12/16/11 Music of the Day: The Kinks

2011-12-16T13:39:00.000-08:00

For Lily and Zoetropic's birthdays...
The best band ever!!!!!
The Kinks...
Ray Davies is such a sweetheart.
And of course there's Lola...
A Love Supreme.
n

The Kinks - Have a Cuppa Tea, 1972

2011-12-16T13:34:00.000-08:00

The Kinks - Dead End Street

2011-12-16T13:32:00.001-08:00

Kinks - Sunny Afternoon (RARE 1966 clip)

2011-12-16T13:32:00.000-08:00

Holiday ~ The Kinks ~ Live 1973

2011-12-16T13:31:00.001-08:00

The Kinks - Waterloo Sunset

2011-12-16T13:31:00.000-08:00

fats waller - your feet's too big

2011-12-15T01:44:00.000-08:00

Honeysuckle Rose,Fats Waller

2011-12-15T01:43:00.000-08:00

12/15/11 Music of the Day: Fats Waller

2011-12-14T23:47:00.000-08:00

12/15/11
In honor of my mom's birthday, Music of the Day is the one and only Mr. Fats Waller. Fats was such such such an amazing keys player. Listening to his recordings, it's really phenomenal how good he was. Plus he had an awesome voice and sense of humor. Unfortunately, the only Fats videos on youtube I could find to post of him actually playing aren't that great. But, still, just that fact that there are video recordings around from that time is pretty cool. And I definitely urge ya'll to check out his entire body of work, 'cause, really, every song he composed is absolute genius. In fact, Fats himself was a genius virtuoso. The Mozart of his time. Seriously.

Fats Waller

Thomas Wright (1904-1943) Pianist, organist, singer, bandleader, and composer

Fats Waller's father, Edward Waller, was a Baptist lay preacher who conducted open air religious services in Harlem, at which as a child Waller played reed organ. He played piano at his public school and at the age of 15 became organist at the Lincoln Theatre on 135th Street. His father hoped that Waller would follow a religious calling rather than a career in jazz, but after the death of his mother Adeline Waller in 1920, he moved in with the family of the pianist Russell B. T. Brooks. Waller met James P. Johnson, under whose tutelage he developed as a pianist and through whose influence he came to make piano rolls — starting in 1922 with Got to Cool My Doggies Now. There is some evidence to support Waller's claims that during his formative years as a pianist he studied with Leopold Godowsky and composition with Carl Bohm at the Juilliard School.

In October 1922, Waller made his recording debut as a soloist for Okeh with Muscle Shoals Blues and Binningham Blues. He began a series of recordings the same year as accompanist for several blues singers including Sara Martin, Alberta Hunter, and Maude Mills. In 1923, a collaboration with Clarence Williams led to the publication of Waller's Wild Cat Blues, which Williams recorded with his Blue Five, including Sidney Bechet (July 1923). Another composition, Squeeze Me, was published the same year; these began to establish Waller's reputation as a composer of material performed and recorded by other artists. 1923 also saw his broadcasting debut for a Newark local station, followed by regular appearances on WHN of New York. Waller continued to broadcast as a singer and soloist throughout his life, including the long-running Fats Waller's Rhythm Club and Moon River (on which he played organ). During the early 1920s, he continued as an organist at the Lincoln and Lafayette theaters in New York.

In 1927, Waller recorded his own composition Whiteman Stomp with Fletcher Henderson's orchestra. Henderson also made use of other works by Waller, including Crazy 'bout My Baby and Stealing Apples. Waller's other work as a composer with the lyricists Edgar Dowell, J. C. Johnson, Andy Razaf, and Spencer Williams produced such songs as Honeysuckle Rose and Black and Blue. With Razaf he worked on much of the music for the all-black Broadway musical Keep Shufflin' (1928). Their later collaborations for the stage included the shows Load of Coal and Hot Chocolates (which opened in May 1929 and transferred onto Broadway on June 20 and incorporated the song Ain't Misbehavin' as a vehicle first for Cab Calloway and later Louis Armstrong). Waller's Carnegie Hall debut was on April 27, 1928, where he was a piano soloist in a version of Johnson's fantasy Yamekraw for piano and orchestra.

In 1926, Waller began his recording association with Victor, his principal record company for the rest of his life, with the organ solos St. Louis Blues and his own Lenox Avenue Blues. Although he recorded with various groups, including Morris's Hot Babes (1927), Fats Waller's Buddies (1929) (one of the earliest interracial groups to record), and McKinney's Cotton Pickers (1929), his most important contribution to the Harlem stride piano tradition was a series of solo recordings of his own compositions: Handful of Keys, Smashing Thirds, Numb Fumblin', and Valentine Stomp (1929). After sessions with Ted Lewis (1930), Jack Teagarden (1931), and Billy Banks's Rhythmakers (1932), he began in May 1934 the voluminous series of recordings with a small band known as Fats Waller and his Rhythm. This six-piece group usually included Herman Autrey (sometimes replaced by Bill Coleman or John "Bugs" Hamilton), Gene Sedric or Rudy Powell, and Al Casey.

In the mid-1930s, Waller worked on the West Coast with Les Hite's band at Frank Sebastian's New Cotton Club. He also appeared in two films while in Hollywood in 1935, Hooray for Love! and King of Burlesque. For tours and recordings, Waller often led his own big band. This began as an expanded version of the band led by his bass player (Charlie Turner's Arcadians), and in 1935, with most members of the Rhythm (as well as Don Redman, among others), it made its first recording. The group's version of I Got Rhythm includes a cutting contest of alternating piano solos by Waller and Hank Duncan.

In 1938, Waller undertook a European tour, recording in London with his Continental Rhythm, as well as making solo pipe-organ recordings for HMV. His second European tour in 1939 was terminated by the outbreak of war, but while in Britain, he recorded his London Suite, an extended series of six related pieces for solo piano: Piccadilly, Chelsea, Soho, Bond Street, Limehouse, and White Chapel. It is Waller's longest composition and represents something of his aspirations to be a serious composer rather than just the author of a string of hit songs.

The last few years of Waller's life involved frequent recordings and extensive tours of the USA. In early 1943, he returned to Hollywood to make the film Stormy Weather with Lena Horne and Bill Robinson, in which he led an all-star band including Benny Carter and Zutty Singleton. He undertook an exceptionally heavy touring load that year, as well as collaborated with the lyricist George Marion, Jr. on the score for the stage show Early to Bed (which opened in Boston on May 24,1943). The touring, constant abuse of his system through overeating and overdrinking, and the nervous strain of many years of legal trouble over alimony payments all took their toll and his health began to break down. He was taken ill during a return visit to the West Coast as a solo pianist at the Zanzibar Room in Hollywood and died of pneumonia while traveling back to New York by train with his manager Ed Kirkeby.

p.s. Happy birthday mama Vicki. And happy almost birthday to you, Lily. Oh, and Seouledge, thanks for your kind words. I will totally, totally check the BR book out. I can see how that would be great. I actually didn't even know it was based on a book until I read that synopsis I posted. Alison, hey, nice to see you back on here. And Irishize33, too. Happy you checked out more of Sean's stuff. His first album, Into the Sun, is incredible. Anyway, did ya'll check out the Suboxone article and subsequent discussion on theFix? Super interesting. The author, Maia Szalavitz, did a great job. Alright, that's it. Thank you guys. A Love Supreme. Oh, and, Lily, I'll try'n think of a special recommendation for tomorrow. At least I'll try. I'm not sure why the italics are on and won't shut off. Love.

Battle Royale Trailer

2011-12-13T00:12:00.000-08:00

12/13/11 Movie of the Day: Battle Royale

2011-12-12T23:25:00.000-08:00

12/13/11 Movie of the Day: Battle Royale

I feel like I haven't been too original recently with my various picks, but, there's no way I could do a best of movies list without including Battle Royale. I mean, it's one of the best movies ever.

Could you kill your best friend?

Reviewed On: 08/09/2008 By Pazuzu Iscariot

Battle Royale (Batoru Rowaiaru) is a work of genius from Japanese director Fukasaku Kinji based on a novel by Takami Koshun. The originality of this movie is definately one of it's strong points. The movie was made in 2000 and paints a picture of a dark future in ruins where violence among Japan's youth has made adults fear their offspring. The very dark humour in the movie is made all the more macarbe by the brutal violence between the children around which the story is based. The fact that the main protagonists are highly emotional youngsters forced to exact brutal and bloody murders amongst themselves makes the movie all the more disturbing and is interspersed with almost comical adults completely indifferent to the fate of their children. The desperation of the class of ninth-grade students makes for a highly emotional and violent rollercoaster ride that doesn't relent from the first scene to the last.

"At the dawn of the new millennium, Japan is in a state of near-collapse. Unemployment is at an all-time high, and violence amongst the nation's youth is spiralling out of control. With school children boycotting their lessons and physically abusing their teachers, a beleaguered and near-defeated government decides to introduce a radical new measure: The Battle Royale Act."

Shuya Nanahara has become disillusioned with life after his mother abandoned him and his father commits suicide. The rest of his class has a similar attitude as society has given up on the youth of the country; this has led to a generation of uncaring and violent schoolchildren unguided by the fearful adults in their life which makes the problem even worse. As Shuya and his class mates near the end of their compulsory education they are taken on a school trip but are blissfully unaware of their destination.

Their destination is a deserted island where the ultimate act of discipline is about to be inflicted upon the class, the BR act. The pupils are gassed on the bus to knock them out and when they awake they are in a briefing room with a former teacher, Kitano. Kitano is a bitter adult since he was attacked at school by a pupil and is happy to take out this bitterness on the children that made his life so miserable. Made to watch an introductory video, the children discover that they are to be released on the island and have three days to kill all of their classmates, the one survivor being allowed to go home. If more than one child is still alive after the three days the irremovable collars that they have been fitted with will explode and no one get's to go home.

Each pupil is given a bag of supplies and a weapon, the weapons available range from the useless (such as a pot lid), to tactical (such as binoculars or a GPS device to track others) to machine guns. The weapons are handed out at random to eliminate any unfair advantages and the children are released onto the island.

Some decide to survive alone, some form into groups and some decide not to play and end it all by suicide. The emotional connections between the classmates are very complex and due to the desperation of the situation the loves, hates, untrust and vengeful motives all come to the forefront as the children try to survive. This emotional turmoil and the presence of deadly weapons leads to some easily provoked, violent showdowns between groups of friends.

The violence in this movie is able to be very creative as there are a wide range of different weapons available to deliver death. The desperation and the high levels of hormones can make this movie quite shocking in places, but there is so much more to the story than just mindless violence. Battle Royale is a darkly humorous and cynical look at society throughout the developed world. Fukasaku Kinji manages to keep the levels of action and violence extremely high throughout but also manages to deliver a complex and original story. This is a must see for anyone able to cope with blood and brutality not just the hardened horror fans.

p.s. I'd say the best part about Battle Royale is the way they escalate all the high school bullshit drama to a level of actual significance. Like, the mean girls are really mean. They hack each other up with hatchets. And the kids who've always been picked on get their chance to really fight back, with crossbows and guns and grenades. Plus that girl from Kill Bill 1 is in it--you know, the school girl with that crazy ball and chain weapon thing. Anyway, it's awesome and super satisfying. I think that's a great way of classifying movies and music and all. Good music/movies/books, they are satisfying. They give it to you like you didn't even know you needed it done. They, uh...they tell it like it is. Yeah, they tell it like it is. Battle Royale tells it like it is. Tessalexandra, is 18 the legal voting age in Canada? Oh, and, Honeybee, sorry about that messed up clip. I hope everyone checks out the Ghost of the Saber Tooth Tiger clip doing the Serge Gainsbourg cover. Genius. Sean is a genius musician. And such a sweet boy. People can be so cruel, you know, on the internet and stuff. Like everything people write about Yoko and Sean. Looking at the GHOSTT's videos online, so many people write all these mean comments about Sean, but they have no idea what they're talking about. I'm not sure why people are so vehemently judgmental and opinionated about Sean's life. I guess it must still be about Yoko and how people ridicule her so much, even all these years later. Honestly, I don't understand it. I've known Sean and Yoko both since I was a baby and they are both such genuine, kind, gentle, loving people. They were there for me in ways only my immediate family were when I was fighting for my life to get sober. Reading mean shit about myself on the internet is still really hurtful for me. And reading these judgmental assholes who have all the opinions about Yoko makes me so fucking angry. Because people have these opinions, but where do they come from? Misinformation, hearsay, rumors. People don't know me, but they think they know me. And that's like times 100 billion for Yoko and for Sean. But watching this clip of GHOSTT playing, you can see what an incredible musician he is. And what a true artist he is. And Yoko is a genius. And John was a genius. Sean has two genius parents. And there is genius in Sean, absolutely. Why am I ranting about this? I guess I was just looking at the comments on these youtube videos and it was making me more and more sad and frustrated. So the movie of the day is Battle Royale. And the music of the day is Sean Lennon.
A LOVE SUPREME.
n

the G.O.A.S.T.T. Comic Strip Serge Gainsbourg cover

2011-12-12T23:24:00.000-08:00

Hey...since that other clip didn't work...here's my buddy Sean doing Serge Gainsbourg's Comic Strip...with his girlfriend on vocals/keyboards...
They are Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger.
GHOSTT.
And this is rad as hell.
love

SERGE GAINSBOURG-Senic Railway

2011-12-12T00:35:00.001-08:00

Serge Gainsbourg featuring Brigitte Bardot - Comic Strip (1968)

2011-12-12T00:32:00.000-08:00

le poinçonneur des Lilas. GAINSBOURG.

2011-12-12T00:31:00.000-08:00

Serge Gainsbourg - La Javanaise (inédit)

2011-12-12T00:30:00.000-08:00

12/12/11 Music of the Day: SERGE GAINSBOURG

2011-12-11T22:21:00.001-08:00

12/12/11 Music of the Day:
SERGE GAINSBOURG
Of course, Serge Gainsbourg is a genius. And picking him for music of the day is an obvious choice. I just watched that biopic, Serge Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life.
Not great, but definitely cool to see. And it reminded me of the music that made him a legend. I'd never gotten too into his later work, but, watching the biopic, I feel like it finally, you know, clicked for me. Really everything he did was genius. From his work with Greco, to Bardot, to Birken...plus all that Reggae stuff. His voice is truly amazing. It has so much depth to it. His voice is everything. That's something I've come to understand about great singer/song writers, it's so much about their voice. That maybe is obvious. But you look at someone great, and it's their voice. It's the gravity of their voice. Of all the bands in the 90's, it was Kurt Cobain who had the voice. John Lennon had the voice. Leadbelly had the voice. Nick Drake. Nina Simone. And Serge Gainsbourg. Man, what a fucking amazing voice.

Serge Gainsbourg

Whatever you might say about Serge Gainsbourg, it has probably been said before and probably by Gainsbourg himself. Was there ever a man or woman more intent on self-promotion?

**Gainsbourg circa 1973**

Whether burning a 500 franc note on television, writing a reggae take-off on «La Marseillaise» or appearing half naked with his 14-year-old daughter in the video for «Lemon incest», Gainsbourg always kept his name in print and his face on the covers of magazines and newspapers.

It would be a mistake to think of Gainsbourg as just a scandalous figure, a creature of the popular press. His impact on French music is inestimable, and his admirers include many who found his lifestyle objectionable. With over 200 songs recorded by everyone from Juliette Gréco and Yves Montand to Alain Chamfort and Vanessa Paradis, Serge Gainsbourg reached an audience that spanned generations and musical eras.

Gainsbourg was born Lucien Ginsburg in Paris in 1928. (For a complete astrological interpretation of his chart click here). His father was a musician who had come to France from Russia just after the 1917 revolution. With false papers, quick wits and constant vigilance, the Ginsburg family managed to survive the German occupation. Coming of age during such a time of fear and repression, it's not surprising that Gainsbourg would develop a cynical and fatalistic approach to life, best summed up by this line from his 1979 album Aux armes et caetera, "Moralité: eau et gaz à tous les étages."

Lucien Ginsburg was trained as an artist, but devoted much of his time to the piano and guitar. During the early 50s he earned his living as both a musician and by painting advertising signs for movie theaters. Rapidly approaching thirty, Ginsburg took his father's advice and took a steady job as a pianist at the Milord l'Arsouille, a cabaret located near the Palais Royal. It was there Gainsbourg encountered Boris Vian.

Gainsbourg was more than just a pianist, he was a character. Full of cynical charm and dark humour, Boris Vian recognized Gainsbourg as someone with great talent, and encouraged him to write songs.

Performed by Michèle Arnaud, house singer for Milord l'Arsouille, Gainsbourg's early songs attracted the attention of other singers and soon he was writing for many of the major figures of that school of chanson called St. Germain-des-près.

Deciding that no one could sing his songs as well as he could himself, Lucien Ginsburg changed his name to something he felt to be a bit more French, and as Serge Gainsbourg he signed with Philips Records. His first album, released in 1958, was not a great commercial success, but the critics and his peers adored it. Here's how Boris Vian announced it to the worls: "Allez, lecteurs ou auditeurs toujours prêts à brailler contre, contre les fausses chansons et les faux de la chanson, tirez deux sacs de vos fouilles et raquez au disquaire en lui demandant le Philips B 76447 B...C'est le premier 25 cm 33 tours d'un drôle d'individu nommé Gainsbourg Serge."

Many of Gainsbourg's songs had already been recorded by les Frères Jacques, Michèle Arnaud and Jean-Claude Pascal. Soon Juliette Gréco would turn songs like «Le poinçonneur des lilas» and «La chanson de Prévert» into classics. Gainsbourg had an ear for fine melodies, and his lyrics, full of worldly cynicism, struck a cord with the fashionable Left Bank crowd.

At one time Gainsbourg's early recording were true collectors items, 25cm monophonic disks pressed in the late 50's. But with the advent of the compact disc and Gainsbourg's huge following, all his earliest recordings have been digitally re-mastered and included in a series comprising his entire recording career.

The first CD in the series, Le poinçonneur des Lilas, contains 24 songs recorded between 1958 and 1960. They run the gamut from 50's cabaret tunes to early 60s pop. The title track is a lament on the work-a-day world. What better way to depict the "horror of the mundane" than to show us the world through the eyes of a subway ticket puncher. " J'suis le poinçonneur des Lilas / Le gars qu'on croise et qu'on n'regarde pas / Y'a pas de soleil sous la terre / Drôl'de croisière / Pour tuer l'ennui j'ai dans ma veste / Les extraits du Reader Digest / Et dans ce bouquin y a écrit / Que des gars s'la coulent douce á Miami / Pendant c'temps que je fais l' zouave / Au fond d'la cave / Paraît qu'y a pas d'sot métier / Moi j'fais des trous dans des billets (131k)." The poinçonneurs have been gone from Paris's subways for many years now, but when Gainsbourg's character describes his days punching "des petits trous toujours des petit trous (92k)" we have no trouble relating.

Gainsbourg has often been cited as a misogynist, and these tendencies are evident in even his earliest recordings. Songs like «Sois belle et tais-toi», «La femme des uns sous le corps des autres» and «Indifférent» reflect an attitude towards women that is far from being enlightened. "Comme le chien de monsieur Jean de Nivelle / Tu ne viens jamais à moi quand je t'appelle / Qu'importe le temps / Qu'emporte le vent / Mieux vaut ton absense / que ton inconséquence (107k)," he sings in «Indifférent». And then he goes on to mourn her lack of interest!

One may well wonder how Gainsbourg got away with his excesses, both in his life and in his music. Where his songs are concerned, one can point to his musicianship and to his humor - many times he is making fun of his attitudes as well as those of the so-called prudes he was deliberately trying to offend.

Gainsbourg's wicked sense of humor is evident throughout his work, but no more so that in the song «Judith», written in 1960 for the film L'Eau à la bouche. The song sounds like something Paul Anka or Franky Avalon would have recorded - like rock beat, fuzzy saxophone and female chorus. Even the lyrics sounds like something for the Bobbie-soxers: "Judith que veux-tu de moi / Que veux-tu / Judith je n'aime que toi / Le sais-tu (88k)." But after six stanzas of declairing his undying devotion, we get the Gainsbourg twist: "Mais si de guerre lasse / Un jour je me lasse / Judith ce jour-là vois-tu / Je te tue (85k)."

Throughout the 1960s, Gainsbourg divided his time between his own records and writing songs for others. It was a career, but he remained a somewhat minor player in the music scene of les années yéyé. All this changed forever when he tied up with the 18 year old France Gall.

Her first hit had been «Sacré Charlemagne», released the previous year. But when she appeared on television, lollipop in hand, singing Gainsbourg's «Les sucettes», both of their careers went through the roof. Ostensibly the song of a young girl who loves anis flavored lollipops, «Les sucettes», in realitiy it was a vulgar joke made fully evident when Gainsbourg recorded the song himself. «Annie aime les sucettes / Les sucette's à l'anis / Les sucett's à l'anis / D'Annie / Donn'nt à ses baisers / Un goût ani / Sé quand ell'n'a sur sa lange / Que le petit bâton / Elle prend ses jambes à son corps / Et retourne au drugstore (132k).» Once the joke was explained to Ms. Gall, she never worked or spoke with Gainsbourg again!

Suddenly Gainsbourg was in hot demand. After years of being the darling of the left bank, he was now main stream, a crafter of hits. By 1968, Serge Gainsbourg was known throughout France. He had appeared on television in his musical comedy, Anna, with Anna Karina and Jean-Claude Brialy and his liaison with Brigitte Bardot provided a media field day.

In her autobiography, Initiales B.B. (éditions Grasset 1996), Brigitte Bardot writes of her affair with Gainsbourg: "Ce fut un amour fou - un amour comme on en rêve - un amour qui restera dans nos mémoires et dans les mémoires." Together they performed such Gainsbourg classics as «Bonnie and Clyde», «Harley Davidson» and «Contact». But after recording «Je t'aime...moi, non plus» (which sat on the shelves at Philips unreleased for 17 years!), the two split permanently.

Bardot felt that «Je t'aime... moi non plus» was too daring and prevented it from being released. Gainsbourg, of course, found someone else.

British actress Jane Birkin was not at all put off by «Je t'aime...moi non plus». She made her mark in world cinema three years earlier in Michelangelo Antonioni's film Blow-Up. Her part in film was small, but featured nudity that was extremely daring by Anglo-American standards.

«Je t'aime... moi non plus», version Gainsbourg-Birkin was released in 1968. Canal+ journalist Marc Toesca described the reaction to the song as follows: "Surprise et succè en France. Mais les soupires et halètements provoquent un scandale... chez nos prudes voisines anglais." The outcry was such that the original label in England, Fontana, dropped the record despite its being number 2 on the charts. A small company, Major Minor, immediately bought the rights and saw the song climb to Number 1, the only French song to ever do so.

Here in the States, there was never a question of putting the song on the radio. It may have been the era of free speech and free love, but not on the American air waves. It wasn't the lyrics to the song that caused the trouble - after all it was sung in French, but one listen to even a breif passage and you'll understand: «Je vais, Je vais et je viens / Entre tes reins / Je vais et je viens / Entre tes reins / Et je / Me re- / Teins… (153k)» Across the country, copies of the 45 kept popping up at colleges and Universities. A sophomore at the time, I recall it as the most played song on the juke box in our student center. At least until faculty pressure forced its removal. Despite the lack of air play and no coordinated marketing effort, Serge Gainsbourg became the most successful French singer in America since the Singing Nun!

Gainsbourg closed the 60s with his album 69, année érotique and opened the 70s with his first concept album, Melody Nelson. These albums are combined in the disk Gainsbourg Vol. 5, Je t'aime… moi non plus. The success of these two albums recorded with Jane Birkin was such that Ms. Birkin, despite possessing a singing voice with no redeeming qualities what-so-ever, has enjoyed a lasting career as a singer in France!

The seventies saw Gainsbourg experiment outside music, releasing a feature film of Je t'aime... moi non plus, and directing television commercials for such products as Lux and Woolite. He continued to write songs for others, but his best work was for himself on albums such as Vu de l'exterieur, Rock around the bunker, L'homme à tête de chou and Aux armes et caetera.

This last album was recorded with musicians from Bob Marley's Wailers, and introduced reggae to France. It also introduced Gainsbourg to the wrath of the Legion d'Honeur, who took as a serious insult Gainsbourg's reworking of the National Anthem. «Allons enfants de la patrie / Le jour de gloire est arrivée / etc. (178k)»

Gainsbourg's career is full of remarkable ironies. Despite his reputation, he was tapped to write the lyrics for the French version of "You're a good man, Charlie Brown", and in 1987 was asked to write an anti-drug song. After a life of such excess, it's pretty hard to imagine what people were thinking of, but Gainsbourg managed to produce a very power and uniquely Gainsbourgian song: «Aux enfants de la chance / Qui n'ont jamais connu les transes / Je direai en substance / Ceci / Touchez pas à la poussière d'ange / Angel dust / Zéro héro à l'infini / Je dis dites-leur et dis-leur / De casser la gueule aux dealers / Qui dans l'hombre attende l'heure/ L'horreur / de minuit (170k).» Gainsbourg's own thoughts on the subject are illuminating: "Tout le monde pense que je suis un junkie, parce que j'ai un regard...comme ça... étoilé. Je ne le suis pas. J'en ai connu, des petites junkies, mais moi, j'touche pas à ça et j'veux pas qu'on y touche. Le leitmotiv, c'est «casser la gueule aux dealers», c'est normal, ce sont eux les assassins, ils vont à la sortie des écoles communales et des lycées."

Whether you listen to Gainsbourg from the fifties, sixties, seventies or eighties, you hear the music of a man totally connected to his time. One of his last albums, You're under arrest is solid 80's dance-beat rock, his music from the late 60s rings of fuzz-box guitar and blues riffs not unlike Buffalo Springfield. And when you listen to the full range of his music, both the songs written for himself and those for others, there is no denying the man's talent.

"Inculpation: Détournement de mineures," reads the rap sheet on the cover of You're under arrest. To Gainsbourg's detractors, that could be a fitting epitaph. Others might prefer Gainsbourg's favorite quote from Oscar Wilde: "J'ai mis mon génie dans ma vie et mon talent dans mon oeuvre."

p.s. The new week and Jasper, my brother, is 18. Holy shit. Man, I've started watching Game of Thrones on demand. Fucking awesome (is that dorky to admit?). Seriously, I think it's a great show. And the dire wolves are the coolest. Lily, that is so sweet and wonderful. I agree, it can be hard to focus on what makes life worth living sometimes. But, I mean, I agree with you as well, that it's the ones we love and art and books and music and movies that keeps us moving forward--keeps us from, you know, just saying, fuck it. Oh, and Tessalexandra, Canada actually sounds awesome. Is it snowing up there yet? And, yeah, Honeybee, I did the surgery with no pain meds after, but they gave me local anesthesia and all. Actually, it wasn't such a big deal. Unbroken, thank you for your sweet words, too. I remember one time my little brother moved his chair and it went down right on my bare foot and, before I even meant to, I'd brought my arm back like I was going to hit him. He was maybe ten and I was twenty. But I seriously almost hit him. Kids throwing tantrums and stuff, it makes you crazy. I mean, there's nothing wrong with that. It's the same with my puppy. Sometimes he'll be playing too rough and bite my hand and it'll hurt and I'll suddenly kick him or something without meaning to. It's a natural reaction. It doesn't mean I don't love him, or I don't love my little brother. Parents have a right to get annoyed, angry, whatever with their kids. Kids, dogs, me, you, we can all be brats sometimes. Well, I sure can. Irishize33, okay...maybe I'll put a picture up. And Jeff E. Winner, are you really from the Archives of Raymond Scott? You know, I had the double CD of Manhattan Research Inc back when I was in high school and I remember reading the liner notes pretty closely. I thought it said in there that he only developed his electronic music for commercial use. That he didn't think it would ever be listened to as music. Is that not true? Admittedly, it was a long time ago I read those liner notes. If that's false information, I apologize. Either way, I'm a huge Raymond Scott fan. And I listen to the Manhattan Research recordings as music all the time. Cool, thanks, man. Otherwise, happy Monday. A Love Supreme. Happy Birthday, Jasper.

12/8/11 Book of the Day: Straight Life: The Story of Art Pepper

2011-12-08T21:22:00.000-08:00

12/8/11
Book of the Day:
Straight Life: The Art Pepper Story
By Art and Laurie Pepper
...People often ask me what I consider to be the best recovery memoir of all time and though there have been a lot of great books on the subject, Jazz musician Art Pepper's autobiography remains my all time favorite. The book is so pure and honest and unpretentious. The writing is so simple and straight forward and true. And the book explores so many interesting aspects of drug addiction from it's effect on creativity, to the crazy, backwards recovery programs in the 70's and 80's like Synanon. Plus he spent a ton of time in prison at San Quentin. And he played Jazz during the time of segregation and through the civil rights movement. Seriously, it's a beautiful book. And his relationship with his wife (who co-wrote the book) is so sweet and lovely. She really helped save his life. And you can see how much he loved her. Also, like I said, this book stands out for being completely stripped down and unwriterly (is that a word?). Not that it's anti-intellectual. It's a super smart book. It's just not self conscious. Which is more than can be said for most writing (including my own). Honestly, I'd love to be able to write as purely as Art and Laurie do. This book is a treasure, really. I hope there will always be an audience to help keep it in print.

Review by Robert Pinsky in City Secrets: BOOKS
The Essential Insider's Guide" (2009)

Straight Life: The Story of Art Pepper

By Art and Laurie Pepper
1979

"Straight Life, by Art and Laurie Pepper" —even the word "by" on the book's cover has a special, bewildering, and exciting meaning: a jazz meaning.

Laurie Pepper gives an elegant, three-sentence preface:

This is a true story, a tape recorded narrative by Art Pepper (and those who've known him) which I have transcribed and edited. In order to avoid embarrassing a number of people, some details have been changed and pseudonyms are occasionally used. Attitudes, intentions, and feelings attributed by Art Pepper to anyone besides himself should be understood by the reader to be Art's impressions, not fact.

The emphasis on truth and the subjectivity of truth; the sleek plainness of the statement introducing a furious, wild set of variations and evolutions; the spontaneity and calculation of spoken narrative, the collaboration and the idiosyncrasy; the laconic irony and the implicit passion: all these have a jazz quality, emphasized and deepened by Straight Life's epigraph:

What is the use of talking and there is no end of talking
There is no end of things in the heart.
—Ezra Pound

The book is talked and it is composed, from Art Pepper's heart and in his voice. It has the qualities I admire in writing, though it was not literally "written" but spoken by its main author.

The material of this life story is mostly hard drugs and jazz music, and its action is the agony of self-destruction and self-preservation. The way I remember passages in Dickens, Joyce, and Dostoyevsky, I remember Pepper's account of the first time he takes heroin and his account of making his historic recording Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section with Miles Davis's rhythm section—Pepper playing with those master sidemen while he was strung out, with a horn needing repair, the instrument neglected because he hadn't practiced for six months. Having been either in prison or stoned, Pepper hadn't heard current tunes like "Imagination;" Red Garland played the head melody once, and Art Pepper played an approximate version of it, later (rightly) praised by critics for its inventive quality.

Art Pepper has no interest in making jazz or drugs romantic. There is no glamorous bullshit here—though there are heroes, like the producer Les Koenig, who defied the Loyalty Oath and the HUAC scoundrels, leaving movies for music. Pepper hates hypocrisy and complacency. The style of his book, like the style of real poetry, disrupts ease with discovery. Pepper's description of the night he dueled with his rival Sonny Stitt, the two saxophone players challenging one another with multiple choruses of improvisation, is exciting—but the narrative of that cutting session is as grim and doomed and realistic as battles in The Iliad.

p.s. I just watched (finally) the new Almodovar movie, The Skin I Live In. It is seriously beautiful and inspiring. It's gotten mostly not great reviews I see, but I couldn't disagree more. For me, I'd say best movie of 2011 for sure. I mean, nothing comes close. Antonio Banderas is awesome in it. And that girl is stunning and amazing. If ya'll can find it, I super recommend it. Even if it is a little disturbing. At least, the rape scenes, you know? I can barely stand watching that shit anymore. Actually, that's like the one thing I really can't take watching. Otherwise, Irishize33, hmmm...I like the John Waters picture. And I hate pictures of myself. Tessalexandra, haha...what is a toonie movie theater? The Aero on Montana in Santa Monica used to have two dollar double features. Not for a long time, though. And, yeah, honeybee, that Marathon Man scene freaked me out, too. They're finishing the surgery on Saturday, actually. Sucks not to be able to take the pain meds, but they never seem to help too much anyway. Isn't that one of the things James Frey lied about? Having all this dental work done with no anesthesia? I never read that book. Oh, and, by the way, a Satanic Cult has come into my new book. I didn't even know it was coming, but now it's there and I'm having fun watching a lot of old Devil movies in preparation. The Devil Rides Out is particularly good. And, the Blood on Satan's Claw. Race With the Devil I already did, right? Oh, and I think someone asked about my favorite Dylan song. Did I ever answer that? It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding), off Bringing it All Back Home. That whole album is great.
A Love Supreme.
n

12/7/11 Movie of the Day: The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T

2011-12-07T22:42:00.000-08:00

Is it Atomic?.avi

2011-12-07T22:40:00.000-08:00

5000 Fingers Of Dr. T, The (Dr. Seuss) - Trailer (1953)

2011-12-07T22:39:00.000-08:00

12/7/11 Movie of the Day: The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T

2011-12-07T22:06:00.000-08:00

12/7/11 The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T
When I was a kid The 5,000 Fingers wasn't available on video (VHS), so I remember waiting all year for the one week it would play at the Red Vic Theater on Haight Street. Me and my dad and my god-parents would go every year and it was so cool to see it on the big screen. The movie is super 50's and funny, plus Dr. Seuss wrote the lyrics to all the songs and designed the sets and costumes and wrote the screenplay. It's also a movie where the child star isn't totally annoying. In fact, little Bart Collins is super likable. The music is great, except for the one song toward the beginning called like "Dream Song," or something. Now that is on DVD I just fast forward through that song. Kinda like "Cheer Up Charlie," in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. I have to fast forward through that song, too. But the rest of it is perfect and so crazy awesomely creative. And beautiful. The guy who plays Dr. T is amazing. Seriously, he goes all out. And Mr. Zabadowski is great, too. Alright, so, yeah, a great movie I still love to watch. And now that it's on DVD, that means I can watch it over and over again. Although, seeing at the Red Vic is still the best.

5,000 Fingers of Dr. T., The

by Rob Gonsalves

"Fun, frightening, colorful, and eccentric — the perfect movie for kids."

For some, all that needs to be said is that Dr. Seuss cowrote the script, designed the sets and costumes, and was essentially the film’s guiding creative intelligence. Inexplicably, this marvelous musical fantasy flopped at the box office.

You know this is a Dr. Seuss movie when you hear the name of the boy hero — Bartholomew Collins, played by Tommy Rettig (Lassie). Bart, who labors over his piano lessons to humor his widowed mother, mistrusts his piano teacher, the prim, humorless Dr. Terwilliker (Hans Conried). Hunched over his hated piano, Bart falls asleep and has a dream, which is where the film really begins.

In this elaborate, lavish nightmare, Bart is trapped in Dr. Terwilliker’s vast castle, where the mad teacher plans to lure 500 boys to play on his huge piano forever. Bart’s mom is hypnotized into obeying Dr. T’s every command; the only person he can turn to for help is kindly plumber Peter Lind Hayes.

The sets, effortlessly imported from the pages of Seuss, will make you gasp every time, and there are wondrous Seussian touches like rollerskating twins joined at their beard. And dig those crazy beanies! Conried gives one of the all-time camp performances; he seems to dote on the notion of being vicious and dressing in preposterous outfits.

If you’ve got kids, they should watch this instead of Jim Carrey’s 'Grinch' or Mike Myers’ 'Cat in the Hat.'

p.s. Irishize33, I totally will tell my dad. That's awesome. My mom, actually, has gotten super into Alanon. She has all these friends and everything in the program. It's changed her life. Tessalexandra, thank you so much. Writing for theFix has been really cool. Honeybee, I agree, that video was awesome. So, Celey, thank you for that. Oh, and, Lily, sorry, I hope that didn't keep you up too late. That movie's ridiculous. Supposedly Eli Roth was supposed to do a remake, but I guess it fell through. Maybe I'll do it, huh? I hope ya'll check out Cameron Crowe's new movie, too, when it comes out. His voice is so unique in Hollywood. He has such an honesty and a depth to his movies. And he is so un-cynical, which I truly admire. I know he has a loyal fan base, but I hope this movie is a huge success for him. We Bought A Zoo. That's what it's called. Alright, A Love Supreme.
n

12/6/11 Music of the Day: Raymond Scott (Manhattan Research, Inc.) - Good Air (1953)

2011-12-06T18:28:00.000-08:00

12/6/11 Music of the Day: Raymond Scott...Twilight in Turkey by Raymond Scott 1961

2011-12-06T18:27:00.000-08:00

The Raymond Scott Quintette - Powerhouse

2011-12-06T18:25:00.000-08:00

12/6/11 Music of the Day: Raymond Scott

2011-12-06T18:22:00.000-08:00

Raymond Scott did the music...Jim Henson does the narration!!
More Raymond Scott later.
Gotta take the dogs out, then going to see The Descendants...
This is genius, though.
And Raymond Scott literally created electronic music.
Although he also believed electronic music could only be used for commercials.
He never imagined people would actually listen to it as music.
Haha.
A Love Supreme.
n

12/5/11 Movie of the Day: The Bad Seed

2011-12-05T22:41:00.000-08:00

The Bad Seed (1956) - Original Theatrical Trailer

2011-12-05T22:40:00.000-08:00

12/5/11 Movie of the Day: The Bad Seed

2011-12-05T18:38:00.000-08:00

11/5/11 Movie of the Day: THE BAD SEED

I'd say the bad seed is probably one of the top ten greatest movies of all time. And, despite what others have said about the ending, I actually think it's one of the best endings of all time, too. Of course, I wouldn't want to give it away, but the ending is so absolutely absurd, I totally love it.

The Bad Seed

(1956)

129 min. Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution. Director: Mervyn LeRoy. Cast: Nancy Kelly, Patty McCormack, Henry Jones, Eileen Heckart, Evelyn Varden.

The Bad Seed would seem to be the dark drama that launched a genre of evil-kid movies. Novelist William March definitely struck archetypal gold when he conceived eight-year-old Rhoda Penmar, a budding sociopath with the internal drive to get what she wants the easy way: by threatening and ultimately killing anyone who stands in her path. Rhoda is, of course, something of a caricature, made all the more creepy by her insistently pure appearance: in her clean, blonde pigtails and neatly appointed outfits, she's like a living doll.

But The Bad Seed wouldn't work as well as it does if it were total fantasy. U.S. Department of Justice statistics from 1996 tell us that one in five murders of children are committed by other children; though most of these killers are teenage, Rhoda is by no means unprecedented, and the genius of Maxwell Anderson's 1954 play adaptation (turned into a screenplay by John Lee Mahin) is its insistence on psychological theory. Director Mervyn LeRoy (Mister Roberts) did a fine job of transplanting the celebrated stageplay into a film that won four Academy Award nominations, one for Harold Rosson's black-and-white cinematography and three for the film's top female performers, all reprising their stage roles: Nancy Kelly as concerned mother Christine, Patty McCormack as little Rhoda, and Eileen Heckart as Mrs. Daigle, a neighboring mother sent into an alcoholic tailspin by grief.

The slow-burning narrative succeeds in turning the screw, as clues compound to suggest that Rhoda may be murderously ruthless (over a penmanship medal, of all things). As Kelly frets, the cheery affection neighbor and landlord Monica Breedlove (Evelyn Varden) shows for Rhoda only adds to a tense time in the Penmar household (father Col. Kenneth Penmar—played by Perry Mason's William Hopper—is out of town on military assignment), while nasty janitor LeRoy (the great Henry Jones, of Vertigo) creates his own brand of bad vibes by hating on Rhoda as much as Monica loves her. This can't end well, and indeed it won't, though the film's ending diverges from the novel and the play to satisfy Hollywood's restrictive moral code at the time (dictated by the censorial Hays Office).

While Kelly is good in an old-fashioned, Sirkian, stare-off-in-the-distance way appropriate to her consistently stunned and behaviorally paralyzed character, it's McCormack who's most responsible for selling the story and Heckart who dazzles with sheer acting power. McCormack gives a credibly creepy performance that never quite goes over the top, and Heckart simply blazes with emotional force: you feel her pain in a performance that's shockingly modern in feel. Ultimately, The Bad Seed is a gimmicky story, coming down on a dubious side of the nature-versus-nurture argument, but it's also good rainy-day fun and, I guess you'd say, the start of something bad in horror cinema: the first bad-seed movie will probably always be the best.

p.s. I'm pretty sure the Bad Seed is on Netflix streaming, which is awesome. So there's no excuse not to watch it. Haha. Otherwise, China, thanks for your comment. No, not evil, at all. People need to get over how critical they are of mothers. Everyone blames mothers for everything and it's crap. Just take a look at the Bad Seed, genetics play such a huge role. Haha. Mother's are expected to act like Saints and it's bullshit. No smoking, drinking, going out, whatever. Mom's before basically the mid seventies did all that shit and people turned out all right. We're such a reactionary culture. Unbroken, yeah, I love both John and Sean's work (well, Sean's earlier stuff, that is). And Beautiful Boy almost always makes me cry. Lily, it's cold up here, too. And our heat is broken and so we're like hibernating right now. felicia10992, nice to see you on here (sorry, not sure what happened with all the fonts). I appreciate your kind words. MIchellefrmHell, nice to see you on here, too. Thanks, too, about WAFD. I agree. I mean, I feel like it's more real in a lot of ways. And tessalexandra, totally, it was super romantic. I watched the wedding video recently and I look so completely in awe watching her come down the aisle. Those traditions are so weird and archaic, but they are still really meaningful. The whole wedding was like that. It all ended up being meaningful in ways I wouldn't have imagined. Anyway, I'm not sure why my underline feature is on, but I can't figure out how to turn it off. See ya'll tomorrow. A Love Supreme. And, yeah, Unbroken, you're right, we're not alone. None of us.

Give me those shoes, Leroy.

Love.

12/3/11 Music of the Day: Jacques Dutronc

2011-12-03T13:41:00.000-08:00

p.s. Good morning! Jacques Dutronc is super awesome, so I hope you can check these two videos out. The song, ON NOUS CACHE TOUS, ON NOUS DIT RIE, is also great, but i couldn't find a good video for it. Otherwise, Honeybee, I think that's good advice about DBT. I was taught that at Life Healing Center and it definitely was helpful. Those Marcia videos are really funny, too. Getting dual diagnosis treatment seems imperative, because if your counselors don't understand mental illness, they're just gonna make you go to meetings and get a sponsor and think that should work for you, 'cause it worked for them. It's not their fault. They just don't understand. Mental illness makes it all more complicated. LILY, yeah, I have seen Christian F. It's really accurate. Maybe a little after-school-specially, but still really good and really real. Plus the David Bowie songs and performance are great. I remember you mentioned Panic in Needle Park at one point, and that's actually the one drug movie I really can't watch 'cause all those shooting up scenes are so vivid and authentic. Not that it makes me want to use. It just makes my stomach turn thinking about it. And, yeah, for Misplaced I agree with Honeybee that finding the right doctor versed in serious depression etc... plus addiction is really important. And, yeah, I love the Velvet Underground...especially their self-titled album (without Nico, though I love that one, too). Jette actually "walked down the aisle" to I FOUND A REASON, off Loaded. Otherwise, have a great weekend. I'll see you Monday. A Love Supreme.

Jacques Dutronc - Et moi,et moi,et moi 1966 Par Mitchou.mpg

2011-12-03T13:38:00.000-08:00

12/2/11 Book of the Day: The Story of O

2011-12-01T23:43:00.001-08:00

12/2/11 Book of the Day:
The Story of O
by Pauline Reage...
I guess The Story of O is kind of an obvious choice for me. I mean, O is kind of like the War and Peace of erotic literature. Pretty much everyone's heard of O and it's been made into a bunch of movies. I actually first read it back in high school 'cause my ex-girlfriend's mom had it on her bookshelf and it looked kinda interesting. It's weird, you know, 'cause I wouldn't say that erotic literature is really like a turn on, or anything. If anything, it's just a fascinating dissection of human needs and desires. For theFix this week I was writing about some of the time I spent on the street. So much of what I was going through back then was just trying to find some sense of self worth or importance. I had no idea who the fuck I really was. And that process of trying to find my place in the world was crazy hard and fucked up. The Story of O is about that struggle. And while I know it wasn't written as a metaphor, the book tells the story of a woman's quest to find meaning in her life--through belonging completely to someone else. I remember being young and having this sort of secret hope that I would just go insane and be able to live my life in an institution, not having to care for myself and make any of my own decisions. Of course, that was a fantasy about what mental illness would be like. I think I'd watched The King of Hearts too many times. But, uh, The Story of O is exactly like that. O wants to belong to her lover and exist for him. I guess I really could relate to that. But, of course, none of that ever works. I mean, O finds that out for herself. Trying to find self worth through another person never EVER works. It's a mistake people make over and over. It's a mistake I made over and over. Plus, beyond all that shit, The Story of O is entertaining as hell and depraved and fascinating. Even if you can't get through the whole thing, it's worth just looking at. And the writing (though a translation) is straight up beautiful. Here's from Wikipedia:

Story of O (French: Histoire d'O, IPA: [istwaʁ do]) is an erotic novel published in 1954 about love, dominance and submission by French author Anne Desclos under the pen name Pauline Réage.

Desclos did not reveal herself as the author for forty years after the initial publication. Desclos claims she wrote the novel as a series of love letters to her lover Jean Paulhan,^[1] who had admired the work of the Marquis de Sade.

Plot

Published in French by Jean-Jacques Pauvert, Story of O is a tale of female submission about a beautiful Parisian fashion photographer, O, who is blindfolded, chained, whipped, branded, pierced, made to wear a mask, and taught to be constantly available for oral, vaginal, and anal intercourse. Despite her harsh treatment, O grants permission beforehand for everything that occurs, and her permission is consistently sought.

At the beginning of the story, O's lover, René, brings her to the château of Roissy, where she is trained to serve the men of an elite group. After this first period of training is finished, as a demonstration of their bond and his generosity, René hands O to Sir Stephen, a more dominant master. René wants O to learn to serve someone whom she does not love, and someone who does not love her. Over the course of this training, O falls in love with Sir Stephen and believes him to be in love with her as well. While her vain friend and lover, Jacqueline, is repulsed by O's chains and scars, O herself is proud of her condition as a willing slave. During the summer, Sir Stephen decides to move O to Samois, an old mansion solely inhabited by women for advanced training and body modifications related to submission. There she agrees to receive a branding and a labia piercing with rings marked with Sir Stephen's initials and insignia. At the climax, O appears as a slave, nude but for an owl-like mask, before a large party of guests who treat her solely as an object.

Anne Desclos (23 September 1907 – 27 April 1998) was a French journalist and novelist who wrote under the pseudonyms Dominique Aury and Pauline Réage.

Born in Rochefort-sur-Mer, Charente-Maritime, France to a bilingual family, Desclos began reading in French and English at an early age. After completing her studies at the Sorbonne, she worked as a journalist until 1946 when she joined Gallimard Publishers as the editorial secretary for one of its imprints where she began using the pen name of Dominique Aury.

An avid reader of English and American literature, Desclos either translated or introduced to readers in France such renowned authors as Algernon Charles Swinburne, Evelyn Waugh, Virginia Woolf, T. S. Eliot, F. Scott Fitzgerald and numerous others. She became a critic and was made a member of the jury for several prominent literary awards.

Desclos' lover and employer, Jean Paulhan, had made the remark to her that no woman was capable of writing an erotic novel. To prove him wrong, Desclos wrote a graphic, sadomasochistic novel that was published under the pseudonym Pauline Réage in June 1954. Titled Histoire d'O (Story of O), it was an enormous, though controversial, commercial success. The book caused much speculation as to the identity of the author. Many doubted that it was a woman, let alone the demure, intellectual, and almost prudish persona displayed in Dominique Aury's writings.

In addition, the book's graphic content sparked so much controversy that the following March the government authorities brought obscenity charges against the publisher and its mysterious author that were thrown out of court in 1959. However, a publicity ban and a restriction on the book's sale to minors was imposed by the judge. Following the lifting of the publicity ban in 1967, the conclusion to Story of O was published under the title Retour à Roissy using the pseudonym of Pauline Réage. However, according to her recent biography by Angie David, Desclos did not write this second novel.

She did an interview about erotic books in 1975 with author and publisher Régine Deforges, yet at the time her authorship of Story of O was still unknown. Desclos publicly admitted that she was the author of The Story of O 40 years after the book was published, in an interview with The New Yorker.^[1]

In 1975, Jean-Jacques Pauvert published Confessions of O, a long interview with the (then still anonymous) author of the Story of O by French author Régine Deforges. An English-language edition was released in the United States in 1979 by Viking Press.

p.s. Thank ya'll so much. I hope you made it through the week alright. Misplacedbeing, yeah, I totally get it. Kurt Cobain said he always felt like he was an alien dropped off on this planet by mistake. And I definitely can relate to that. So often I feel like I can't stand people and want to go live in a cave somewhere. But then I also really care about people, too, you know? And crave human contact...so it's confusing. I do want to be a part of the world. But sometimes I don't know how. Or, yeah, I feel like an alien. But, as I've gotten older, and stayed sober longer, it has definitely gotten better. Like, slowly I've figured out who I am and what I want and don't want and I'm able to be more true to myself. It's annoying, I know, that I always say this, but the truth is, I just have to hold on. If I hold on through the bad times and believe, it will, ultimately, always, get better. I will find my place and my meaning. It will come. Not through other people or substances or anything. It will come from within me. But, more practically speaking, you know, outpatient really was an awesome thing for me. I think it's a great way to meet people. And it always helps me get out of my shit. Oh, and thank you for the kind words about the blog. Honeybee, thanks, yeah, that advice is good. Talking does totally help. Anyway, blah. Happy Friday. I hope ya'll enjoy/check out, The Story of O. It really is a classic. What did I say? War and Peace? Or Citizen Kane.

A LOVE SUPREME.

11/30/11 Music of the Day: Whodini

2011-11-30T22:51:00.000-08:00

Whodini - Freaks come out at Night (original)

2011-11-30T22:49:00.000-08:00

Race With The Devil (1975) Original Theatrical Movie Trailer

2011-11-29T22:26:00.000-08:00

Dirty Mary Crazy Larry (1974) Original Theatrical Trailer I

2011-11-29T22:25:00.000-08:00

11/29/11 Movie of the Day: Double Feature: Dirty Mary/Crazy Larry and Race With the Devil

2011-11-29T21:59:00.000-08:00

11/29/11 Movie of the Day: Double Feature: Dirty Mary/Crazy Larry and Race With the Devil.
Two awesome Peter Fonda car chase movies from the 70's--both with the best fucking endings ever. And they're being released together on one DVD, which is perfect, 'cause the two movies totally go together almost like they're a volume one and a volume two. Here's what some weird-o horror site said about the double feature. Dirty Mary/Crazy Larry is on Netflix streaming, I think.

July 1st, 2011 by Vomitron

Director: Jack Starret
Writer: Lee Frost and Wes Bishop
Release Year: 1975

Satanists. You gotta hand it to them, they’re usually not the most friendly kind of people. In ‘Race With The Devil’ Peter Fonda, Warren Oates, Loretta Swit and Lara Parker run into more than a whole bunch of them during their vacation. The only thing for our foursome left to do, is get in their vehicle and drive… Racing away right up until the terrifying climax.

(Spoilers!)

‘Race With The Devil’ is a nice little occult road-movie classic from the 70′s. Decently paced and engaging. Of course you have to wait for more than an hour before the racing starts, but the climactic last 20 minutes make up for it. Fonda, Oates, Swit & Parker are on a holiday with their mobile home and witness to a satanic ritual killing during one night. Naturally, the local authorities have some difficulties believing all this, and soon the two couples find themselves being harassed and eventually chased by several cult-members. The sense of paranoia this film has, is quite superb. Just about everyone in this movie could be a satanist follower. Peter Fonda is cool as always. This time he uses the word “terrific” a lot as an expletive, instead of “groovy”.

But we’re straying off topic here. How does the film end? After the exciting & exhausting racing sequence, Fonda & co seem to have lost the satanists. So they park their vehicle in a somewhat deserted field. I can imagine they’d want to catch their breath for a while with a dry Martini, maybe even sleep off the nightmare they’d just been through. But granted, it’s not the smartest thing to do with a whole bunch of murderous satanists somewhere out there. And this pays off badly for our friends.

Suddenly, out of the dark the satanists appear, dressed in black capes. While Peter & co already start to move in terrifying slow motion inside the mobile home, a ring of fire is being lit around the vehicle.

Surrounded by a horde of chanting satanists, the circle of fire closes, leaving the protagonists severely outnumbered inside their vehicle. This nightly spectacle is filmed from a helicopter, and it’s this foreboding shot that freezes.

The chantings and scary sound effects fade, and the credits start to roll over the frozen frame. With on the soundtrack nothing but icy cold wind blowing. Now that’s a terrific ending.

Coming from Shout! Factory on April 12th, 2011 is an Action-Packed Double Feature of Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry and Race with the Devil. Both films were originally released by Anchor Bay back in 2005 and have since gone out of print. It is great to see them re-released again, especially by Shout! who handles every release with the highest of standards. Not to mention the fact that Anchor Bay's Race with the Devil had possibly the ugliest and cheapest DVD cover I've ever seen (see the travesty HERE). Anyway, with two films starring Peter Fonda, not to mention Dirty Mary featuring the beautiful and always fun to watch Susan George and Race with the Devil starring the great Warren Oates, this set is a must!

1974's Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry follows an ex-Nascar racer (Fonda) who, along with his mechanic Deke (Adam Roarke), rob a grocery store owner by holding his family for ransom. After getting the money, they take off to re-join the racing circuit. Mary (George), a foul-mouthed groupie with nothing going on in her life, manages to trick them into letting her tag along. Soon, the cops are hot on their trail but Larry's driving skills make them hard to catch. Enter Police Captain Franklin (Vic Morrow), who takes the matter into his own hands after several failed chases and road block attempts.

1975's Race with the Devil stars Warren Oates as Frank, the owner of a motorcycle shop and Peter Fonda as his friend Roger, a racer. They decide to go on vacation together (along with Roger's girlfriend and Frank's wife) in Frank's new RV. The first night of their trip, instead of staying in an RV park, they decide to find a nice secluded spot in the middle of nowhere for some peace and quiet. Roger and Frank go to explore some strange noises they hear not too far from their spot and end up witnessing a satanic ritual which ends in a human sacrifice. They are spotted by the devil worshippers and barely make it out alive. After alerting the local police, they continue their vacation but soon find themselves being hunted by the cult.

This Action-Packed double feature is a great slice of 70's drive-in heaven. Other than Peter Fonda, the only real similarities between the films are several exciting car chases. Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry is basically one long car chase, with a few bumps along the way. Fonda and George are great as a pair of feuding ex-lovers and the car stunts are out of this world. Vic Morrow is another highlight of the film, especially his helicopter chase scene at the end. The sharply written (and very dated, but in a good way) dialogue makes the characters stand out and saves the film from being just a series of car explosions. Race with the Devil is part of one of my favorite horror sub-genres - occult horror. Though definitely not just a horror film, Race features several death defying car (or RV) chases too. Basically an occult horror, car chase mystery with very few gaps in action. The cast is top notch all around and the story is filled with several twists and turns, making the viewer unsure of every character that pops up. Of the two, I would say Race with the Devil is the stronger film but they are both very entertaining and worthy of a re-release. This 2 disc set includes a ton of special features (commentaries, interviews, trailers, TV spots and radio spots) and beautiful Anamorphic Widescreen Transfers. Another excellent release from Shout! Factory.

p.s. I agree with this person, Race With the Devil is probably a little better, but they're both great. Otherwise, MistressD, that sounds rad. I used to have a drug dealer named Madam D...any relation? Haha. Sorry, I'm dumb. SimpleSarah, totally, I love, love that Biz Markie song. Irishize33, yeah, I haven't read my dad's book again in such a long time. It is really beautiful, though. I think it's really amazing the the way he shows how parents look at their children. Like, every parent (or every good parent) sees their child as the most beautiful boy or girl in the world. That's why that title is so great. And why that John Lennon lullaby to Sean is so gorgeous. I'd make that my song of the day, but that'd be too much, I guess. The version of it on the new Double Fantasy Stripped Down album is amazing. Actually, I prefer that album to the original. And I'm really sorry about your nephew. That totally sucks. It's so random and unfair. There's nothing fair about it and another reason why I keep having a hard time with the whole higher power thing. No one's ever been able to explain that to me in a way I understand--if God is supposed to be so good and loving and all. I don't get it. No one's life is more valuable than any other. I mean, fuck that.
A LOVE SUPREME...
n

COMPUTER LOVE LIVE 1981

2011-11-28T17:20:00.000-08:00

KRAFTWERK - THE MODEL

2011-11-28T17:19:00.000-08:00

Kraftwerk - The Robots

2011-11-28T17:15:00.000-08:00

11/28/11 Music of the Day: KRAFTWERK

2011-11-28T16:53:00.000-08:00

11/28/11 Music of the Day: KRAFTWERK
Best electronic band ever. Pioneers of digital music.
Perfect for recovering from dental surgery--and everything else, really.
Germans are so weird, aren't they? I think this music appeals to my sense of humor more than anything else. But, no, the beats are tight. And the whole concept of the band is like a performance art piece--which I dig.

by Jason Ankeny

During the mid-'70s, Germany's Kraftwerk established the sonic blueprint followed by an extraordinary number of artists in the decades to come. From the British new romantic movement to hip-hop to techno, the group's self-described "robot pop" -- hypnotically minimal, obliquely rhythmic music performed solely via electronic means -- resonates in virtually every new development to impact the contemporary pop scene of the late- 20th century, and as pioneers of the electronic music form, their enduring influence cannot be overstated. Kraftwerk emerged from the same German experimental music community of the late '60s which also spawned Can and Tangerine Dream; primary members Florian Schneider and Ralf Hütter first met as classical music students at the Dusseldorf Conservatory, originally teaming in the group Organisation and issuing a 1970 album, Tone Float, in the U.K. Schneider and Hütter soon disbanded Organisation, re-christening themselves Kraftwerk (German for "power station"), beginning work on their own studio (later dubbed Kling Klang), and immersing their music in the fledgling world of minimalist electronics; their 1971 debut, titled simply Kraftwerk 1, offered a hint of their unique aesthetic in its earliest form, already implementing innovations including Schneider's attempts at designing homemade rhythm machines.

A series of lineup shifts followed, and at one point Hütter even left the group; however, by the release of 1972's Kraftwerk 2, he and Schneider were again working in tandem. Recorded without a live drummer, the album's rhythms relied solely on a drum machine, creating a distinctly robotic feel without precedent -- the concept of purely technological music was, at the time, utterly alien to most musicians, as well as listeners. A series of well-received live performances followed before Kraftwerk began work on their breakthrough third LP, 1973's Ralf and Florian; honing their many ambitions down to a few simple yet extraordinarily innovative concepts, their music began growing more and more revelatory -- even their clean-cut, scientific image was in direct opposition to the dominant pop fashions of the time. Kraftwerk's first album to be issued in the U.S., 1974's Autobahn was an international smash; an edited single version of the epic title track was a major hit at home and abroad, and in America the previously unknown group reached the upper rungs of the pop albums chart. Performed in large part on a Moog synthesizer, Autobahn crystallized the distinctive Kraftwerk sound while making the group's first clear overtures towards conventional pop structure and melody, establishing a permanent foothold for electronic music within the mainstream.

Kraftwerk resurfaced in 1975 with Radio-Activity, a concept album exploring the theme of radio communication; indicative of the group's new global popularity, it was released in both German and English-language editions, the latter appearing early the following year. Train travel emerged as the subject of 1977's Trans-Europe Express, which marked an increased movement towards seeming musical mechanization; the line became even further blurred with the follow-up, 1978's aptly titled The Man Machine, a work almost completely bereft of human touches. By this time, the members of Kraftwerk even publicly portrayed themselves as automatons, an image solidified by tracks like "We Are the Robots." Having reached the peak of their influence, however, the group disappeared from view, the first of many extended absences to follow; they did not return to action prior to 1981's Computer World, a meditation on the new global dominance of technology -- a society their music long ago predicted and pre-dated. After topping the British charts with the single "Computer Love," Kraftwerk again vanished, enjoying a five-year layoff culminating in the release of 1986's Electric Cafe. By now, however, pop music was dominated by synthesizers and drum machines, and the group's stature flagged; but for a 1991 best-of collection titled The Mix, they remained silent during most of the decade. They finally released a new single, "Expo 2000," in late 1999, and surprised fans by announcing tour dates. On the recording front, Kraftwerk celebrated the centennial anniversary of the Tour de France with a new version of their 1983 single "Tour de France," and followed with a full album (Tour de France Soundtracks) in August 2003. The live record Minimum-Maximum followed in 2005.

p.s. wisdom teeth suck! But I got ya'll's invites on Facebook, so thanks for that. I don't know if you can see my little bro's fake senior pic on my wall, but it's awesome. In terms of KRAFTWERK, the MAN MACHINE, COMPUTER WORLD, and TRANS EUROPE EXPRESS are definitely the best albums. Super great if you can get 'em on Vinyl. I prefer the English versions of their songs, just 'cause I think they're funnier. I'll respond more later too all the Facebook stuff, et al.

Computer Love.
n

11/27/11 Book of the Day: We Have Always Lived in the Castle

2011-11-27T10:54:00.000-08:00

11/27/11 Book of the Day: WE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN THE CASTLE...
I guess "haunting" is probably the best way to describe this book. The writing is perfection--sparse and exact and dream-like. There are no extra words--no extra sentiments. It is one of the most beautiful books ever written. It is absolute perfection.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1st edition cover (Viking Press)

We Have Always Lived in the Castle is the final novel by Shirley Jackson, published in 1962, three years before her death in 1965. In 1966, the novel was adapted into a play by Hugh Wheeler. In 2010 Adam Bock and Todd Almond premiered a musical version at Yale Repertory Theatre.

Plot summary:

The novel, narrated in the first-person by 18-year-old Mary Katherine "Merricat" Blackwood, tells the story of the Blackwood family. Merricat, her elder sister Constance, and their ailing uncle Julian live in a large house on large grounds, in isolation from the nearby village. Constance has not left their home in six years, going no farther than her large garden. Uncle Julian, confined to a wheelchair, obsessively writes and re-writes notes for his memoirs, while Constance cares for him. Through Uncle Julian's ramblings the events of the past are revealed, including what has happened to the remainder of the Blackwood family: six years ago both the Blackwood parents, an aunt (Julian's wife), and a younger brother were murdered — poisoned with arsenic, mixed into the family sugar and sprinkled onto blackberries at dinner. Julian, though poisoned, survived; Constance, who did not put sugar on her berries, was arrested for and eventually acquitted of the crime. Merricat was not at dinner, having been sent to bed without dinner as punishment. The people of the village believe that Constance has gotten away with murder and the family is ostracized. The three remaining Blackwoods have grown accustomed to their isolation and lead a quiet, happy existence. Merricat is the family's sole contact with the outside world, walking into the village twice a week and carrying home groceries and library books, where she is faced directly with the hostility of the villagers and often followed by groups of children, who taunt her.

Merricat is protective of her sister and is a practicioner of sympathetic magic. She feels that a dangerous change is approaching; her response is to reassure herself of the various magical safeguards she has placed around their home, including a book nailed to a tree. After discovering that the book has fallen down, Merricat becomes convinced that danger is imminent. Before she can warn Constance, their estranged cousin, Charles, appears for a visit.

Charles quickly befriends Constance, insinuating himself into her confidence. Charles is aware of Merricat's hostility and is increasingly rude to her and impatient of Julian's weaknesses. He makes many references to the money the sisters keep locked in their father's safe, and is gradually wooing Constance, who begins to respond to his advances. Merricat perceives Charles as a threat, calling him a demon and a ghost, and tries various magical and otherwise disruptive means to drive him from the house. Uncle Julian is increasingly disgusted by Charles, and Constance is increasingly caught between the warring parties.

One night before dinner Constance sends Merricat upstairs to wash her hands, and she pushes Charles' still-smoldering pipe into a wastebasket filled with newspapers. The pipe sets fire to the family home. The villagers arrive to put out the fire, but once it's out, in a wave of long-repressed hatred for the Blackwoods, they begin throwing rocks at the windows, smashing them and surging into the house to destroy whatever they can, all the while chanting their children's taunting rhyme. Merricat and Constance, driven outdoors, are encircled by some of the villagers who seem on the verge of attacking them, en masse. Merricat and Constance flee for safety into the woods. In the course of the fire, Julian dies of what is implied to be a heart attack, and Charles attempts to take the family safe. While Merricat and Constance shelter for the night under a tree Merricat has made into a hideaway, Constance confesses for the first time that she always know Merricat poisoned the family. Merricat readily admits to the deed, saying that she put the poison in the sugar bowl because she knew Constance would not take sugar.

Upon returning to their ruined home, Constance and Merricat proceed to salvage what is left of their belongings, close off those rooms too damaged to use, and start their lives anew in the little space left to them. The house, now without a roof, resembles a castle "turreted and open to the sky". The villagers, awakening at last to a sense of guilt, begin to leave food on their doorstep. Charles returns once to try to renew his acquaintance with Constance, but she now knows his real purpose is greed and ignores him. The two sisters choose to remain alone and unseen by the rest of the world.

Major themes

The theme of persecution of people who exhibit "otherness" in small-town New England, by small-minded villagers, is at the forefront of We Have Always Lived In The Castle, and is a constant in Jackson's work, her short story The Lottery, being perhaps the most vivid example of this. In her novels The Haunting of Hill House and, to a lesser extent, The Sundial, this theme is also central to the psychology of the story. In all these works, the main characters live in a house that stands alone on many acres, and is entirely separate physically, socially, as well as ideologically, from the main inhabitants of the town. In his 2006 introduction to the Penguin Books edition, Johnathan Lethem states that the recurring town is "pretty well recognizable as North Bennington, Vermont," where Jackson and her husband, Bennington professor Stanley Edgar Hyman, encountered strong "reflexive anti-Semitism and anti-intellectualism."

All of Jackson's work creates an atmosphere of strangeness and contact with what Lethem calls "a vast intimacy with everyday evil..." and how that intimacy affects "a village, a family, a self." Only in We Have Always Lived In The Castle, though, is there also a deep exploration of love and devotion despite the pervasive unease and perversity of character that runs through the story. Constance's complete absence of judgement of her sister and her crime is treated as absolutely normal and unremarkable, and it is clear throughout the story that Merricat loves and cares deeply for her sister, despite her otherwise apparently sociopathic tendencies.

The novel has been described by Jackson's biographer, Judy Opphenheimer, as "a paean to agoraphobia," with the author's own agoraphobia and nervous conditions having greatly informed its psychology. Jackson freely admitted that the two young women in the story were liberally fictionalised versions of her own daughters. Written in deceptively simple language, by an entirely unreliable narrator, the novel implies that the two heroines may choose to live forever in the remaining three rooms of their house, since they prefer each other's company to that of any outsiders. Lethem calls this reversion to their pre-Charles stasis Merricat's "triumph."

Grey Gardens

2011-11-22T10:56:00.001-08:00

Grey Gardens Clip

2011-11-22T10:56:00.000-08:00

11/22/11 Movie of the Day: Grey Gardens (1975)

2011-11-22T10:31:00.000-08:00

Reviews

Grey Gardens

David & Albert Maysles USA 1976

When I was a boy, my family lived down the street from a reclusive old woman. She lived alone and no one knew if she had family who supported her. Her corner house had stood for so long that any paint originally on the shingles had long since faded away and had never been replaced. No lights ever emanated from her windows, no activity ever seemed to grace her rooms. Some nights, however, in the summer when our windows were open, I would awake with a start to hear a low, sustained moan that sounded like that of a wounded animal. My grandmother would tell me that it was the woman on the corner, crying with pain from the ailments of old age. Sometimes I would catch glimpses of her on the rare occasion she set foot outside her house — it was like seeing a ghost in the middle of the day. I rudely stared at her, even as a child aware of the fact that I might never see her again. The next thing I knew, I was twelve and was standing in the middle of her house, carelessly rooting through boxes of bric-a-brac. The old woman had died and the whole neighborhood had turned out for her estate sale to finally satisfy their curiosity.

Standing in that house was like being transported back to the beginning of the twentieth century. Gas sconces jutted from the gilt-papered walls, smoke still staining the ceiling above them. Brocaded, overstuffed chairs were tagged for sale, ancient antimacassars still clinging to their backs. The remains of a life spent in solitude were sorted into cartons and priced for purchase by the armful.

It was a startling moment for me in that this woman, though she had lived mere yards from me, was a complete stranger only now known to me through her meager possessions. It was a moment I had long forgotten until I watched Grey Gardens, the breathtaking and very moving film portrait of Edith Bouvier Beale and her daughter, Little Edie, by the Maysles brothers. The film evoked in me a similar sense of shame and amazement that I was looking in on a private life, a privilege I felt I had not earned. The difference is that the old woman who lived down the street from me never expected that I would be in her parlor one day, trespassing and fingering her brooches. The Beales, on the other hand, had practically invited me in and were performing, quite unguardedly, the pageant of their lives for my personal benefit.

Grey Gardens is a strangely alluring film that, like its subjects, fairly defies description. It can only be explained as a true cult film: once introduced to its mysteries and strange pleasures, the novitiate cannot help but become an evangelist for the film, begging friends and relatives to see it, if only so they don’t feel like a lonely addict when they watch it, alone, for the fifteenth time. The convert begins not only to care for the Beales as if they were beloved family members, but becomes fiercely protective of them as well. One surefire method of pissing off a Grey Gardens fanatic is to assert that the film is exploitive. At first blush, the film may seem like an invitation to mockery, but the more one uncovers of the vast history of the Beales at Grey Gardens, the more the film becomes a monument to the fiercely independent nature of these two staunch characters.

In 1972, in their January 10th issue, New York magazine published a personal essay by Gail Sheehy recounting her strange encounters with the ladies who lived at Grey Gardens. Events that are only hinted at or briefly mentioned in the film are detailed in Sheehy’s piece. For those of you who wonder why Mrs. Beale described her daughter’s younger days as wild (when it seemed Edie only wanted to be on her own for a while), Edie regales Sheehy with the tale of how she ran away from home three times before Mr. Beale abandoned her mother. And what of that abandonment? Apparently Mrs. Beale was so bored with the strictures of society that she hired an accompanist and started singing in New York nightclubs. This simply wasn’t done, especially by a woman from a prominent family with a husband and children. Instead of reining her in, Mr. Beale threw up his hands and moved out to his hunting lodge. Mrs. Beale’s father was less aloof. After threatening several times to disown her for her bohemian behavior, Major Bouvier finally cut her out of his will after she showed up, outrageously dressed, halfway into her own son’s wedding. Upon Bouvier’s death, she received the sum of $65,000 in a trust fund to be administered by her sons. Needless to say, the money was long gone by the time Sheehy or the Maysles got to Grey Gardens. The tragic fable of the Beale women is this: by turning their backs on society, they paid the price of their freedom by having society turn its back on them.

It’s tempting to laugh at Little Edie when she whines, “weah gonna get raided again,” but the sad truth is that the women really did live in fear that the Town of Easthampton and Suffolk County would kick them out of their house. It had been attempted before. On October 22, 1971, a posse of health inspectors, detectives, and ASPCA representatives forced their way into the house and discovered a stomach-churning spectacle of five-foot high mounds of garbage, floors covered in cat shit, and evidence that the Beales had been using a bedroom as a latrine. The family, including Jacqueline Kennedy (Mrs. Beale’s niece), refused any assistance. So inured were they to the Beale women’s stubbornness, they hoped that the house would be condemned if only to force the women to move somewhere else. The Beales remained, literally and figuratively, unmoved. They were, in Edie’s words, “artists against the bureaucrats.” They had survived months of harassment from the local authorities and could (and would) withstand years more. After all, they were Bouviers.

Being related to one of the most famous and beloved women in the United States ensured that the resulting controversy over the Beales escalated into a public scandal. The American press, shocked by the inattention of this prominent family to the needs of their relatives, treated the Beales with kindness. Of the press, Edie remarked, “I don’t think we can live in America anymore. The only freedom we have left is in the press.” Unfortunately, the international press was considerably less kind and painted a portrait of the Beales as senile old biddies who needed to be put away. All they really wanted was to show the world that they were just talented, misunderstood artists. All they really wanted was a chance to tell their side of the story. Along came the Maysles brothers, their camera loaded with film and flea collars around their ankles.

Originally introduced to the Beales by Lee (Bouvier) Radziwill, who wanted them to make a film about her and Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis’ early years, the Maysles felt the Beales of Grey Gardens made the much more interesting subject (and who can blame them?). Though the Maysles acknowledge their own presence in the film from the first moments and converse with the Beales from behind the camera, they never stage or direct the action. The Beales are in charge of the whole show. Mrs. Beale sings her favorite tunes, boils corn for everyone on a Sterno stove on her bed, and generally berates Edie for transgressions large (being a difficult child) and small (singing the incorrect lyrics to a song). Edie shows off her eccentric outfits (including the fabulous “revolutionary costume”), moans about how she can’t bear another winter at Grey Gardens, and performs her famous Virginia Military Institute dance. By participating, nay, collaborating in the film, the Beales lifted a great middle finger to the village of Easthampton, to the press, to their disapproving relatives, and to anyone who would dare tell them how to live their lives. Every song, every dance, every “costume,” and every slice of Wonder Bread fed to a raccoon is a brazen act of defiance.

While the primary appeal of the film might be observing the Beales as a matched set of Miss Havishams, living their lives frozen in time, it is undeniable that there is a lot of pain, need, and regret between these women that remains unresolved. Arguments unsettled for thirty years continue on as if the outcome still mattered. Betrayals of decades past resurface as if they had been committed yesterday. The two women, united in their struggle against family and society, are divided by their own personal power games between each other. Mrs. Beale scared off every suitor Edie ever had because she didn’t want to be left alone. Edie resents her mother for having taken up with a drifter who was eventually found dead in their kitchen. The speed with which a loving exchange between the two can turn into a heated row is practically head-spinning.

One of the most shocking moments in the film comes, however, not from one of the many contretemps between the two women, but from a quiet moment of reflection as they look through old photographs. Edie holds up to the camera a few pictures of youthful, happy, stunningly beautiful women. It takes one a moment to comprehend that these pictures are of Mrs. Beale and Edie in the periods of their youth. After viewing this film several times and reading up on the history of the Beales and the Bouviers, I still cannot wrap my head around how the women in those pictures came to be the women in the film. I suspect that it is the result of living together, as they had, in complete isolation for decade after decade, but it is still one of the great mysteries of the film. Of course, Edie would not want us to dwell on it. “I hate it when people say I was beautiful in the old days,” she said to Gail Sheehy. “I want to detach myself from the past! Do you understand? I like to think I’m good now. I’m terrific now!” No one would ever deny that Edie was indeed terrific, but as much as she wanted to escape the past, she seemed trapped into reliving it with her mother day after day.

Edie, after years of threatening to get away from Grey Gardens, only succeeded when Mrs. Beale died shortly after the theatrical release of the Maysles’ film. She moved to Bal Harbour, Florida where she could finally live in freedom as she wished, swimming in the salty waves and sunning herself on the beach. Just as the film became a way for a larger public to hear Mrs. Beales’ story and a monument to her memory when she passed, so too did the Criterion Collection DVD become a platform for Edie and the lasting tribute to her. She died in January 2002, just months after the release of the DVD. I remember watching the 2002 Academy Award ceremony and its alternately touching and loathsome tribute to those in the film community who had died that year. When Edie’s face unexpectedly flashed on the screen in a scene from Grey Gardens, I was filled with a flush of emotion. She really was a star after all, and, by god, she outclassed every single one of the people in that audience.

p.s. I know people like the HBO movie remake (sort of) that they did, but I actually couldn't stand it. The original Sayles brothers' documentary is one of my favorite films of ALL TIME. I could watch it five thousand times.

Otherwise, happy almost T-giving to you all. I'm still up North and my parents' dog (Charles Wallace) keeps stealing my toast in the morning. Honeybee, it's nice to see you on here. Thank you. Yeah, I hope I fixed the Biz problem.Stashleyyy, nice to see you on here, too. A year clean (almost) is AWESOME. Seriously, the longer I stay clean, the better my life gets. It's weird, though, 'cause I feel like, for the first couple years, that didn't necessarily seem like it was gonna be true, but I just kept holding on and not giving up (finally) and I'm so grateful now I did. Faith is hard to have. Not like in a spiritual sense, but just, like, faith things are gonna work out. But I believe they will, if we hold on. You know? And Irishize33, thank you, yeah, the cult sisters book has evolved actually to be even broader than that, but I've always been super interested in cults, I think mostly from having spent so much time being indoctrinated in rehabs, etc... Humans are so susceptible to the power of suggestion. That's fascinating to me. Anyway, hope ya'll are getting tomorrow off. Grey Gardens is really an awesome documentary to check out.

A Love Supreme.

Biz Markie - 'Just A Friend' (Music Video)

2011-11-22T10:18:00.000-08:00

FANTASTIC PLANET

2011-11-21T11:45:00.000-08:00

Fantastic Planet (Meditation Scene)

2011-11-21T11:41:00.000-08:00

11/21/11 Movie of the Day: Le Planet Sauvage

2011-11-20T23:03:00.001-08:00

11/21/11
Movie of the Day: Fantastic Planet
I'd say this is probably one of the top ten greatest films of all time--and, definitely the best animated film. If you can find the French version, it's definitely worth it...'cause the voices on the dub kinda sucks.
But even with the dub, it is one of the most visual interesting movies ever--plus the MUSIC is so, so good. The music is incredible!!!
Here's from Rotten Tomatoes:
Fantastic Planet (René Laloux / France-Czechoslovakia, 1973):
(La Planète Sauvage; Planet of Incredible Creatures)

A children’s game from the plaything’s terrified vantage introduces the planet Ygam, presided over by blue-skinned, bland-voiced colossuses with lidless crimson eyes, the Draags. A race of Tom Thumbs known as the Oms struggles to survive, at best they’re seen as pets by the amphibious giants, at worse as vermin. An orphaned Om is adopted by an adolescent Draag named Tiwa; christened Terr, he’s collared and dressed in tiny jester togs, and secretly absorbs knowledge from his owner’s faulty educational headphones. "It was possible to learn. The problem was, did I want to?" Walerian Borowcyk would have been the ideal choice for this serenely cruel animated reverie, though director René Laloux and writer-designer Roland Topor achieve their own trippy alchemy by giving the Swiftian fable a Tanguy perspective. Terr’s escape and the feral Oms’ exodus toward one of the planet’s moons chart out the uncanny landscape -- crystals sprout like mushrooms and are vanquished by whistling, a chortling Venus flytrap exists solely to grab and crush birds, roots and crevasses and canals are woozily sexualized. The glow-in-the-dark sacred procession from Fantasia is re-imagined as a tasteful forest orgy, the Draags meanwhile get their psychedelic freak on in literal out-of-body interludes during which their souls drift away in bubbles and attach themselves to waltzing, headless statues (cf. Mallarmé's dream of the dancer's entrechats). A patchwork of cutouts from Soviet tech and science magazines pinned into druggy tableaux, with a genuine sense of placid terror to give teeth to its planar allegories. With the voices of Jennifer Drake, Eric Baugin, Jean Topart, and Jean Valmont.

--- Fernando F. Croce

p.s. the article on TheFix is up about repairing relationships in sobriety. XXshelbybear, thank you for commenting. Do you work for some magazine or something? Tess, yeah, MAMA SAID is the best song ever. IRISHIZE33, yeah, I reread what you wrote and it does make sense. Just in general, the happier I am, the more I'm not trying to escape my reality. In any way. THANKSGIVING. There was a time I felt like the best holiday I ever spent was in treatment...but I don't feel that way anymore. Last year, with Jette, we went to the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel for Thanksgiving and it was so awesome. That place is such a throw back to old Hollywood glamor. And Rod Stewart and family were all there next to us. Weird. Actually, I know this is strange, but the Polo Lounge is like my favorite place in LA. It's a trip for sure. Anyway, I'll be back later.
A Love Supreme.
n

The Shirelles - Mamma Said

2011-11-19T10:22:00.000-08:00

The Shirelles - Will You Love Me Tomorrow (Live, 1964)

2011-11-19T10:21:00.000-08:00

11/19/11 Music of the Day: the Shirelles

2011-11-19T10:03:00.001-08:00

Music of the Day: The Shirelles...11/19/11...
Out in Inverness, listening to the Shirelles...
There are so many girl groups from the 60's...and, actually, I love move of the them.
But MAMA SAID is one of my favorite songs off all time.
Really, of all time!!
And these videos are super cool.
It was actually my little Daisy who got me listening to the Shirelles.
And she was a Shirelle for Halloween this year.
If you like the Shirelles, also check out the Ronettes and Bobettes...and, if you can find it, there's a pack of compilation CD's called Rooky Ricardo's that has all these out of print girl group songs from the 60's.
If I new how to online post it, I would.
Anyway, it's cool to be away from the city for a little bit.
And with my Jazz and Dais and Charles Wallace.
A LOVE SUPREME.

The Shirelles

One of the first of the late Fifties and early Sixties girl groups and among the few to write their own hits, the Shirelles were also one of the longest lasting

The Shirelles, a group of 16 and 17 year olds, were all friends from Passaic High School in Passaic, New Jersey, that began singing together in 1958. Fans of the Flamingos, Chantels, and Little Anthony and the Imperials as well as the Bobbettes, The Shirelles received a large part of their musical education by listening to New York's premier R&B station at the time, WWRL.

Originally they called themselves the Poquellos (meaning birds).

Photo courtesy bsnpubs.com
Florence Greenberg

The Shirelles consisted of Shirley Owens (born June 10, 1941), Addie Micki" Harris (born January 22, 1940), Beverly Lee Born August 3, 1942) and Doris Coley (born August 2, 1941) With a strong distinctive voice, Owens was the natural leader.. Their harmonizing in the school gym resulted in a teacher suggesting that they direct their talents toward the school's talent show. The Shirelles then set about to writing an original show and they wrote one about young love called "I Met Him On A Sunday." The girls sang the song a cappella in the show and were immediate sensations. Their friend Mary Jane Greenberg wanted to introduce them to her mother Florence Greenberg, who owned Tiara Records, but the girls weren't interested and turned her down. After Mary Jane's repeated request, the Poquellos finally auditioned in Florence's living room with "I Met Him on a Sunday." On February 7, 1958 they found themselves in a recording studio doing "I Met Him On A Sunday" and "I Want You To Be My Boyfriend." Deciding that they needed a more commercial name, so Florence took Shirley's name, and combined it with the Chantels and came up with the Shirelles. Promotional copies were distributed in New York in les than a week after the audition..

The single came out in March and created enough activity for Decca to buy the masters. On April 21, "I Met Him On A Sunday reached the Billboard charts, rising to #49. The single became a staple on radio stations until July. The Shirelles were booked to play the Apollo Theater in March and appeared on Dick Clark's ABC-TV Saturday show in April.

The Shirelles then began performing on the chitlin' circuit, but their mothers insisted that the teens be chaperoned. Two of the tour's older performers, Etta James and Ruth Brown became the designated den mothers.

Decca issued two more singles "My Love Is A Charm" and "Lonely Nights" both which failed to chart. The Shirelles were dropped by Decca by the end of 1958.

photo courtesy bsnpubs.com
The Shirelles and Luther Dixon

In June 1959, the Shirelles began their comeback. They were booked into the Howard Theater in Washington, DC, followed by the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York Greenberg who had started Sceptor Records in the spring of 1959 and brought in producer/writer Luther Dixon to work with the girls. The Shirelles' first Sceptor record was a remake of the 5 Royales' 1957 single "Dedicated To The One I Love" with Doris Coley on lead, reached #83 in July. To promote the record a long tour of one-nighters headlined by Dee Clark.

The next two singles "Doin' the Ronde" and "Please Be My Boyfriend" went nowhere. Then the group recorded a Owens/Dixon composition, "Tonight's the Night," which was released in April, 1960. Featuring Owens, it charted on September 12 and reached #39 Pop and #14 R&B.

In late summer of 1960, songwriters Carole King and Gerry Goffin brought Dixon a song called "Tomorrow." The girls didn't like it, feeling it was to white, and had to be pressured by Dixon to record it. By the time it was released in the fall of 1960, it had become "Will You Love Me Tomorrow," an up-tempo pop song with an exciting string arrangement and lyrics that were ahead of their time in subject matter.

On November 21, 1960 "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" charted Pop and in two weeks reached the top spot, the first record by a black female group to hit the top spot. Its success put life back into "Dedicated To the One I Love" and "Tonight's the Night" and all three were certified gold in 1961. The Shirelles ended the year by appearing at the Brooklyn Paramount's Chiristmas Show were Brenda Lee, Bobby Rydell and Ray Charles headlined.

The follow up was a reissue of "Dedicated To the One I Love," and it climbed the Hot 100 so fast that "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" was still at number #3 when it entered the Top 10.

The Shirelles then began touring with all the hitmakers of the day from Dion, Chubby Checker, Ray Charles, Neil Sedaka, and the Coasters, to Fats Domino, the Drifters, and Bo Diddley. They also did the Dick Clark Caravan of Stars.

Owen's distinctively innocent sound was now fully developed and the girl's harmonies were polished and smoothly commercially. As a result the Shirelles charted more times Pop (26) than R&B (20) in their career.

"Mama Said" reached #4 Pop and #2 R&B in the spring of 1961. The Shirelles were doing so well that Decca re-issued "I Met Him On A Sunday" in early 1961.

Doing one of Alan Freed's infrequent West Coast tours and on June 25, 1961, played the Hollywood Bowl with Jerry Lee Lewis, Brenda Lee, and Bobby Vee.

In early 1962 writers, Hal David, Burt Bacharach and Barney Williams gave Dixon a rock ballad called "I'll Cherish You' which became "Baby It's You." "Baby It's You" charted at #8 Pop and #3 R&B. Despite the Shirelles' enormous popularity TV shows like Ed Sullivan were off limits to black girls in 1962.

In 1962 Dixon and Florence Greenberg wrote a country styled tune called "Soldier Boy" which became the group's second number one record.

By now every every publisher and writer was trying to get a song recorded by the Shirelles. Two songs that were passed on were "The Shoop Shoop Song, a #6 hit for Betty Everett in 1964, and "He's a Rebel, which the Crystals took to #1 in 1962.

Shirelles and Murray the K

The Shirelles continued to appear on the charts in 1962 with "Welcome Home Baby" (#22 Pop, #20 R&B), "Stop the Music (#36 Pop), and "Everybody Loves a Lover" (#19 Pop, #15 R&B), but in 1963 Dixon left to work at Capitol and Stan Green took over production. He had a strong entry with "Foolish Little Girl" (#4 Pop, #9 R&B), but subsequent songs were weaker. Still the Shirelles stayed in demand recording several songs for the film comedy It's a Mad, Mad, Mad,World and touring England with Little Richard and Duane Eddy.

During this time Shirley got married becoming Shirley Owens-Alston, and Doris became Doris Coley-Kenner. A new comer Dionne Warwick substituted at performances for these newlyweds and at the same time building her own career at Sceptor.

In 1964, the Shirelles were told there was no money in the trust fund by Greenberg to protect their earnings. They attempted to leave Sceptter, but were blocked by an injunction as lawsuits went through the courts. Scepter continued to release previously recorded material, but without commercial success.

After the legal problems were settled, the Sirelles remained with Sceptor for another four years. Sceptor continued to issue Shirelle records through 1968, but after "Foolish Little Girl' the closest they came to the Top 20 out of twenty-three singles was "Don't Say Good Night and Mean Goodbye (#26) in the summer of 1963. One song that had a good shot was "Sha La La (early 1964), whiched charted. However as it was starting to gain momentum Manfred Mann covered it at the beginning of the British invasion and disc jockeys opted to play the foreign version.

The Shirelles' last charting single was "Last Minute Miracle" (#99 Pop, #41 R&B), but there wasn't any.

In 1968 Doris left the group to raise a family and the Shirelles continued on as a trio. In 1969 they had three singles as Shirley and the Shirelles for Bell Records. On November 29, they appeared on Richard Nader's first Rock & Roll Revival concert at the Felt Forum in New York with the Penguins, Chuck Berry, Bill Haley and the Comets, the Five Satins, Shep and the Limelites, the Spaniels, the Mello-Kings, and Gary U.S. Bonds.

In 1970 the group signed with United Artists Records and recorded a medley of "There Goes My Baby/"Be My Baby." In the fall of 1971 they signed with their last label RCA, for four singles and continued touring.

In 1975 Shirley teamed up with producer and former Shirelles manager Randy Irwin for a unique concept LP called Shirley Alston With A Little Help from Her Friends. The friends were famous doo wop groups who backed Shirley while she sang lead on their biggest hits, e.g., "I Only Have Eyes for You" with the Moonglows, "When or Where" with the Belmonts, "Save the Last Dance for Me" with the Drifters, and "In the Still of the Night" with the Five Satins. In the meantime Doris returned and the group continued performing until June 10, 1982, when Mickey Harris died of a heart attack while performing with the group at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Atlanta.

Entering the '90s there were at least three different Shirelle groups, each with one original member.

The Shirelles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989.

P.S. I'll try'n post more later, but, for now, seems like this comment thing is working better. Irishize33 I'm not sure I totally understand your question. Things are different for me now, though, yeah. Alright, thank ya'll. Oh, yeah, p.p.s. the MAMA SAID video is just a recording over that picture, but it's better than nothing.

Valley Girl Montage-1983

2011-11-18T13:33:00.000-08:00

11/18/11 Movie of the Day: Valley Girl

2011-11-18T13:07:00.000-08:00

So...I think all I have time for today is a movie of the day 'cause I'm driving up North to see the family.
But I figure Valley Girl stands on its own.
That is, it deserves its own day. Considering it is the BEST teen movie from the 80's (and there were a lot, right?). Low budget, cheesy, but somehow a lot more honest than those other teen movies. Plus it's funny and ridiculous. I, unfortunately, don't remember a whole lot from the 80's...I think '88,'89 is a far back as my memories go, but there was something so awesome about the LOUDNESS of everything. The 90's were so muted and cynical and everything was already becoming so ironic. The 80's seemed surprisingly innocent. Like, listening to hip hop and rap from the 80's, you can feel this genuine belief people had that they could make a difference. There's this feeling like the world was at everybody's finger tips. And then...of course...later, it all got lost. But, if ignorance is bliss, then the 80's represent that to me. Reagan exemplifies that perfectly. Like, he was this movie star everyone revered so highly, and he had absolutely no foresight whatsoever about what the long term consequences of his policies would be. It was a time when people still took the environment for granted and it seemed like there would be an endless supply of money and oil coming in and America would rule the world forever.
Well, now we're living with the after math of all that greed and EXCESS.
But those 80's teen movies like Valley Girl are a reflection of how, in a lot of ways, teenagers lives really were much simpler back then.
You know, like all the brat-pack, John Hughes movies.
Although Valley Girl is way, way cooler--and, like I said, way realer feeling.
Plus the soundtrack is awesome.
They even have Josie Cotton performing at the kids' prom--singing, Johnny are You Queer, Boy?
Probably a Song of the Day, at some point.
But there's also music from the Sparks, and the Plimsouls, and Modern English (of course), Psychedelic Furs...and others I can't think of right now. That, Eyes of a Stranger, song is awesome.
The Payolas, is it?
Oh, I almost forgot to say... Nic Cage!!!
What happened to him?
He used to be super cool, right?
Valley Girl, Raising Arizona, Wild at Heart, (of course) Leaving Las Vegas.
He really blew it, man.
Damn.
But, anyway, thank ya'll.
I'll write some from Inverness when I get up there.
A LOVE SUPREME.
n

This is from Wikipedia:

Valley Girl is a 1983 romantic comedy film, starring Nicolas Cage, Deborah Foreman, Elizabeth Daily, Cameron Dye, and Joyce Heiser. The film was the directorial debut of Martha Coolidge, and was the first film in which Nicolas Coppola was billed as Nicolas Cage.

The American release of Valley Girl was April 29, 1983.^[2] The plot is loosely based on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.^[3]

Julie Richman (Deborah Foreman) is a Valley Girl who seems to have it all: good looks, popularity, and a handsome Valley dude boyfriend, Tommy (Michael Bowen). However, she has grown tired of Tommy's lack of respect and arrogance towards her. At the end of a shopping trip with her friends, Loryn (Elizabeth Daily), Stacey (Heidi Holicker), and Suzi (Michelle Meyrink), Julie runs into Tommy and breaks up with him, returning his I.D. bracelet. Later that day at the beach, Julie spies a handsome young man, and the two trade shy glances at each other.

That night, at the party at Suzi's house, Julie locks eyes with Randy (Nicolas Cage), a Hollywood punk who has crashed the party with his friend, Fred (Cameron Dye). They hit it off well, especially after Julie learns that Randy was the young man she had seen at the beach earlier, but a jealous Tommy, who had tried to bed Loryn earlier, and his cronies expel Randy and Fred. Randy eventually returns to Suzi's house, sneaks inside, and hides, waiting for Julie to cross his path. When she does, he convinces her to leave the party with him. Julie brings a very reluctant Stacey along for the ride with Randy and Fred into Hollywood. While at Randy's favorite nightclub, Julie and Randy find their attraction to each other growing and share a kiss, as Stacey continually rebuffs Fred's advances.

Julie's blossoming romance with Randy disgusts her friends, simply because Randy is not from the Valley. They threaten Julie with the loss of her popularity and their friendship if she continues to date Randy. Julie goes to her father (Frederic Forrest), an aging 1960s era hippie, for advice. Mr. Richman kindly tells her that she should follow her heart, reminding her that it is what is inside a person that counts. Despite her father's sage advice, Julie caves to peer pressure and reconciles, albeit awkwardly, with Tommy, who puts his I.D. bracelet back on her wrist. That evening, Julie tearfully dumps Randy when he goes to visit her. Randy, realizing that Julie has given in to her friends' wishes, curses at her and leaves. A heartbroken and drunk Randy later arrives at the nightclub, and ends up in the arms of his ex-girlfriend, Samantha (Tina Theberge). After a heated make-out session with Samantha, Randy feels even more miserable than before. He nearly gets into a fight with a gang of low riders before Fred saves him. Fred chides Randy for moping over Julie, but tells him that he needs to fight if he truly wants her back.

Over the next few days, Randy flits about the Valley, trying to be where his path would cross Julie's. She seems covertly glad to see him, but is quite shaken when she catches him sleeping on the front lawn outside her window. Fred devises a plan that he dubs "simplicity at its finest," one that will both reunite Randy with Julie and achieve the "grandest form of retribution" against Tommy. As the girls make prom decorations, Stacey and Loryn chat over their post-prom plans. Stacey tells Loryn that Tommy had made a reservation at the Valley Sheraton Hotel, unbeknownst to Julie.

The night of the Valley High junior prom, Tommy and Julie ride to the prom in a rented stretch limousine. Randy and Fred arrive shortly after and sneak backstage, watching the Valley High kids dancing to the music of Josie Cotton and the Party Crashers. Randy soon grows tired of just watching and demands to know if there is any more to Fred's plan, to which Fred says that there is nothing more, though the two vow to "crush that fly!" Julie and Tommy are now backstage, waiting to be introduced as king and queen of the prom. Randy confronts Tommy, and the two begin to brawl. When the prom king and queen are announced, the curtain pulls back to reveal Randy beating up Tommy. Randy knocks Tommy out, then escorts a thrilled Julie from the stage through the crowd. Tommy recovers and storms through the crowd towards Randy and Julie, who find themselves blocked in by the snack table. Tommy demands an explanation from Julie. She answers by smashing a platter of guacamole in his face. A food fight starts, from which Randy and Julie escape and take off in Tommy's rented limousine.

As the happy couple ride into the night to the Valley Sheraton, Julie removes Tommy's I.D. bracelet and throws it out the window. The scene, which echoes the final scene of the film The Graduate, pans to the overview of the Valley, while the limo turns past the Sherman Oaks Galleria glowing in the night as the Modern English song "I Melt With You" closes out the film.

A subplot involves Suzi and her stepmother, Beth (Lee Purcell), vying for the attention of Skip (David Ensor), the grocery delivery boy. At her party, Suzi tells Beth, who is chaperoning, about a boy that she likes and hopes likes her too. Beth soon notices a dark-haired boy to whom she finds herself attracted. The boy turns out to be Skip, the very boy that Suzi likes. Skip finds himself attracted to Beth and goes out of his way to go to see her without Suzi finding out; he even turns down an invite from Suzi to go to her house during an unsupervised slumber party because Beth is out on a date. One day, Skip enters Suzi's house, apparently looking for Beth. He goes upstairs and hears a shower running in Beth's bedroom. He finds that a woman is in the shower. Skip and this woman, whose face is not shown, are then shown making love. During this time, we see another woman coming home and going upstairs. The bedroom door opens, Beth enters, and only then it is shown that Suzi had been the woman in the shower and is now in bed with Skip. By the end of the film, Skip and Suzi go to the prom together.

11/17/11 Book of the Day: GEEK LOVE

2011-11-17T21:42:00.000-08:00

Book of the Day:
I guess GEEK LOVE might be an obvious choice for me. But it is genius and really kind of a miracle of a book. Like, I can't believe it is a book that exists. Katherine Dunn is a beautiful writer and a beautiful story teller. This book, to me, actually, has a lot in common with my first Book of the Day: The Painted Bird. Both are like hallucinations. Reading them is like dreaming. I wish someone would turn Dunn's book into a movie--but they'd have to do it animated--maybe stop-motion like Fantastic Mr. Fox. That could be genius. Attached below is a kind of long winded article that pretty well summarizes the book. It's funny 'cause, again, like The Painted Bird, the ending is a total throw away--but the rest of the book is absolute perfection. And, yeah, even for me, it's a weird fucking book. Anyway...here's the article below...

Family Circus: Katherine Dunn's Geek Love

By Michael Abernethy 1 February 2006

When a friend recommended Geek Love to me, I imagined a tale of two nerds brought together through their passion for Star Trek and video games, a tale which reaffirmed that there truly was someone for everyone, even those souls lacking in beauty and social skills. Upon starting the book, I immediately learned that the geeks of the title aren’t nerds, but circus freaks, aka “geeks”, and the love referred to in the title is more familial than romantic. And there isn’t someone for everyone.

I fell in love with this warped tale of a dysfunctional family almost 20 years ago. Despite its nomination for a National Book Award, this isn’t a book I recommend to just any lover of literature. If your tastes run more to the nature of Jane Austen or Robert Browning, Geek Love is not the novel for you. It is gross, revolting, tragic, bizarre, shocking, and extraordinarily moving.

Katherine Dunn’s 1983 novel is the first-person story of Olympia Binewski, an albino, bald dwarf with a hunchback. Olympia’s freakish nature is not an aberration of nature so much as a carefully planned deviation. Olympia, or Oly, is one of four freak children born to Al and “Crystal Lil” Binewski, who run a traveling circus and create their own sideshow freaks by feeding Crystal Lil poisons, pills, insecticides, and radioisotopes during her pregnancies. Those children who fail to survive the traumatic pregnancies are preserved in jars for public viewing; those who do survive are put to work in the circus. This foundation takes the novel into the realm of the surreal, but Dunn doesn’t seek to just startle or disgust viewers. She examines human nature and relationships from an alternative perspective, challenging perceptions of what love is and what is “normal”.

The novel exists in two worlds—the circus world of Oly’s youth, and the present day world of Portland, where the adult Oly has settled into a boarding house run by her mentally incapacitated mother, who is the victim of years of ingesting drugs, making her unable to recognize even her own daughter. Also living in the house is Oly’s daughter Miranda, a beautiful young woman who has never known her mother. Thus, three generations of Binewski women live together, connected only by Oly’s knowledge of their relationship.

As Oly recalls her youth, it becomes clear that Al and Crystal Lil are proud and doting parents to their four/five children, the oldest of which is Arturo (Arty), also known as Aqua Boy, born without arms and legs but with flippers attached to his torso. Arty becomes the dominant force in the family and the deviant equivalent of a traveling evangelist whose followers self-mutilate to be more like him. Next are the twins, Electra (Elly) and Iphigenia (Iphy), born with two torsos but one set of hips and legs binding them permanently together. Oly is the third child, followed by Fortunato (Chick), a child normal in appearance who possesses the ability to move things with his mind. As Arty becomes a cult leader, Al and Crystal Lil increasingly submit to his will, and his power leads Oly and Chick to grow closer, allowing Oly to experience the closest thing to a traditional family relationship she will know.

Oly’s recollections of this time are the core of the book and represent Dunn’s best writing. In a 1996 interview, Dunn noted that Geek Love was inspired by two concerns: the rise of genetic manipulation, or “nature versus nature”, and the controlling structure of cults, “the fundamental notion of giving up responsibility to an outside power” (Katy Lain, “Dead and Circuses: A Conversation With Katherine Dunn”, 7 July 1996, http://www.stim.com/Stim-x/0796July/Verbal/dunnhello.html). Both Oly’s present and past are filled with the physically deformed and the “norms”, or “normal” people, whose fascination with the geeks make them easy pray for those desiring power, but the themes of the novel are most clearly represented in Oly’s childhood.

Within Oly’s language lies an intense desperation for normalcy, not so much in her appearance as in her desire for a nurturing home life and a need to escape the suffocating attention focused on her manipulative brother. Oly is not useful to the family except as menial labor; she is not deformed enough to be a star, nor does she possess any particular talent like the musically gifted twins. Consequently, her relationship with her family is warped, as she loves and loathes Arty, is spurned by the twins, and feels detached from her parents. Her yearnings are both brutally blunt and eloquent:

“Sometimes just looking at Al and Crystal Lil I wanted to bash their heads with a tire iron. Not to kill them, just to wake them up… I suppose I wanted them to save me from my own hurts and the moldering arsenic ache of jealousy. I wanted back into the child mind where Mama and Papa lived, the old fantasy where they could keep me safe even from my own nastiness.”

It is this desolation which inspires Oly to have her daughter. Dunn’s prose detailing Miranda’s conception contrasts the harshness found in other sections of the novel; here, she is subtle, most likely because the novel veers into the realm of incest. Miranda is also Arty’s daughter, sired when Chick uses his mental powers to impregnate Oly with Arty’s sperm. Arty is oblivious to what has happened; Oly is overjoyed: “Don’t ever doubt that it was an act of love…I was beside myself with glory.” And so another dimension of human nature which makes us squeamish, incest, is made more palatable through our affection for the 17 year-old dwarf.

It is for Miranda that Oly has written her life story. As a grown-up in Portland, Oly works at a radio station and has devoted herself to protecting her daughter, who knows her only as the nice lady who lives downstairs. This portion of the novel is less satisfying than Olympia’s recollections of her childhood, although the same themes are present—genetic mutation and cult power. Despite her parentage, Miranda’s sole deformity is a tail which is easily hidden, and she gains the attention of Miss Lick, a wealthy older woman who arranges disfigurements for attractive women. Oly becomes determined to stop Miss Lick from doing the same to her daughter.

The telling of Oly’s struggle to save her child contains the novel’s only major flaws. The first of these cannot be easily discussed, as doing so necessitates revealing the surprising ending of the novel. However, it can safely be said that it is a problem with the narrative structure and the author’s control of time which weakens the novel’s conclusion.

The second flaw of the novel is that Dunn only allows the reader to know Miranda superficially. We learn the details of Miranda’s life, as well as the depth of Oly’s love for her, but the limited and stilted conversations between the two prevent the reader from growing to share Oly’s affection for her daughter and concern for her fate. Consequently, it is more difficult to become immersed in the passages which take place in the present.

Again, as an adult, Oly allows her familial relationships to define her, and again she must keep her true feelings hidden. Often, I found myself resenting Miranda for denying Oly a life sans worry, even though she was unaware of the effect she was having on her mother. Dunn excels so well in making the reader care about the fate of Oly that there is a yearning for the narrative to refocus on her when attention is focused elsewhere.

Fortunately, the two tales—Oly’s childhood and adulthood—are interwoven. Had they been told chronologically, the last third of the story would have been anticlimactic. Additionally, it allows Dunn to parallel the stories. Both Oly’s youth and her experience with her daughter end tragically; interweaving the story results in a one-two punch for the reader. Often times, the quality of a book is measured by how much the reader wants the story to continue once the end is reached. With Geek Love, I was glad to reach the last page, emotionally drained and unable to take anymore of the heartbreak Dunn was intent on spreading, yet still glad to have shared Oly’s narrative.

Where Geek Love succeeds most is in forcing the reader to reevaluate their perceptions of normalcy. We can’t help but look at those who are different, knowing fully that it isn’t polite to stare. So we sneak glances, quickly looking away when the object of our attention turns our way. We imagine what life must be like for them; surely, they can’t think like we do, since their experiences have been so far removed from the normalcy of our own. For Dunn, this is a fallacy; human experiences and the mixed emotions which accompany them transcend physicality and demographics, even to those segments of society which the norms delude themselves into thinking they have nothing in common with.

In telling Oly’s story, Dunn sets the elements of traditional familial conflict—the desire for love, struggle over power, and need of protection—in the most untraditional of families. But the struggles are easily identifiable from our own lives and experiences, and how the Binewskis handle the turmoil of their daily lives reminds us of how we have dealt with the same problems. The Binewskis are us, all of our ugly warts and flaws placed clearly in view for the world, our imperfections magnified to the dimension we perceive them to be.

In the 20 years since I read Geek Love, I’ve viewed the people around me differently. Behind each disfigured face or every burn-scarred body is a person with a story like my own, someone probably looking at me wondering how I got this ugly scar on my arm and why I can’t do anything to control my freaky, curly hair. For that understanding, I am indebted to Dunn. The greatness of her novel lies not in the power of her writing or the depth of her imagination, but in her ability to open minds and change perceptions.

p.s. Alright, well...I hope this format is working for ya'll. It's fun for me just 'cause I can add the different sections throughout the day as they come to me...you know, BOOK, MOVIE, MUSIC...and, yes, TESSalexandra and ALISON, I guess this is the new Atrocity Exhibition (a Joy Division song, by the way). I think this is a cool way to talk about art and stuff with out it being so intensely personal. My life has changed so much since Tweak. I don't feel like I'm struggling every day like I was. Irishize33..thaNK YOU FOR looking out for me...I tried to change the comment settings, so we'll see...My wife is a normal person and I think she gets annoyed with addiction talk and all the self pitying that goes along with it and I totally understand. At this point I try not to make it all the center of my life, because it isn't anymore. Mostly I don't even think about it. I'm just a person who doesn't drink or do drugs. She doesn't need to understand the power of addiction or anything. It's not her problem. And, if I did relapse or something, she'd be out of here. And that would be right, because I'd have blown it. And as powerful as addiction is, once you are actually sober, going back to using is absolutely a choice. Making that choice one has to know they are sacrificing everything they love in their lives. However, once I did get sober it took about a year before talking to my dad again...and then another six months before talking to my step-mom and even longer till I could talk to Jasper and Daisy. THREE years later, though, they are seriously my best friends in the world. That sounds corny, but it's true. My next column in TheFIX is about exactly that. And about the whole process of earning trust back. It's about exactly what you are talking about. Weird, right? I wrote it last week in Minnesota. But I do know and agree with you that kids are way more sensitive than they are given credit for. My addiction really hurt J & D, but now, in recovery I hope I make it up to them by being a good friend to them. Truly, they are two of my favorite people ever. What else? Zoetropic, you're right, Barbarella was my first experience of, like, WOAH, what is this Woman thing? But Christina Lindberg was my second, I guess. So, anyway is this working better. Really, my best advice is, above everything else posted, check out that BY A WATERFALL Busby Berkeley video I put on here. If you only have time to watch one thing, that's what I'd suggest. It seriously makes me happy every time I watch it. And, yeah, like I said, that whole DVD is amazing. SO, love, and A LOVE SUPREME. see ya tomorrow...

11/17/11 Music of the Day: Patsy Cline

2011-11-17T15:26:00.001-08:00

I realize Patsy Cline might seem like an unlikely choice for my MUSIC OF THE DAY...but, if you've never listened to Patsy, seriously, it's genius. I'm not a fan of country music, really, but Patsy's voice is beautiful...and the music is so campy and awesome. Plus she was a super cool lady. I FALL TO PIECES is my favorite song of hers. Although, the live version I posted isn't, you know, quite as polished and perfect as the recording. But to me, I'll just say, I think it's really interesting that out of a certain time period, while a lot of musicians will be doing the same type of thing, there will be one that stands out above all the rest--and who deserves to have their legacy carried on. Like, in my mind, of all the "grunge" alternative bands of the nineties, only NIRVANA still stands out as having been truly great. Patsy Cline is the same way. Of all the female Country Western singers of that time, she's the only one that continues to be relevant. It's pretty cool, if you think about it. There's always one group (and, actually a particular person i.e. Kurt Cobain) who deserves to be remembered. Sometimes there will be two or even three lasting groups--but that is rare. Especially in one particular genre. Like, to me, John Coltrane and Miles Davis are the two stand outs from the JAZZ period--but for very different reasons. And their music was super different. Though both their best work was done later in their careers. But of Jazz fusion, Miles is the star. And for straight ahead Jazz, Coltrane is the one who deserves to be remembered. All the other guys--Monk, Mingus, Wes Montgomery etc...they're all good. But Miles and Coltrane are the BEST. Just like Patsy is the BEST.
So here's from a bio of her.
Book and COMMENTS later.
A love supreme.

Patsy Cline

Patsy Cline (September 8, 1932 – March 5, 1963), born Virginia Patterson Hensley, was an American country music singer who enjoyed pop music crossover success during the era of the Nashville sound in the early 1960s. Since her death in 1963 at age 30 in a private airplane crash at the height of her career, she has been considered one of the most influential, successful, and acclaimed female vocalists of the 20th century.

Cline was best known for her rich tone and emotionally expressive bold contralto voice, which, along with her role as a mover and shaker in the country music industry, has been cited as an inspiration by many vocalists of various music genres. Her life and career have been the subject of numerous books, movies, documentaries, articles and stage plays.

Her hits included “Walkin’ After Midnight”, “I Fall to Pieces”, “She’s Got You”, “Crazy” and “Sweet Dreams”. Posthumously, millions of her albums have sold over the past 50 years and she has been given numerous awards, which have given her an iconic status with some fans similar to that of legends Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley. Ten years after her death, she became the first female solo artist inducted to the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Patsy Cline's plaque in the Country Music Hall of Fame

In 2002, Cline was voted by artists and members of the country music industry as number one on CMT’s television special, The 40 Greatest Women of Country Music, and in 1999 she was voted number 11 on VH1′s special The 100 Greatest Women in Rock and Roll by members and artists of the rock industry. She was also ranked ranked 46th in Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Singers of all Time.” According to her 1973 Country Music Hall of Fame plaque, “Her heritage of timeless recordings is testimony to her artistic capacity.”

Born September 8, 1932, in Winchester, Virginia, she was the daughter of Sam and Hilda Patterson Hensley, a blacksmith and a seamstress; Hilda was only 16 when Patsy was born. Patsy was the eldest of three children, the others being Samuel and Sylvia. The three children, despite their given names, were called Ginny, John, and Sis. Patsy grew up a poor girl “on the wrong side of the tracks,” but except for the fact that her father deserted the family in 1947, when she was 15, the Hensley home was quite happy.

Patsy Cline's childhood home in Winchester, Virginia

The family lived in many different places around Virginia before settling in Winchester. Cline often said as a child that she would one day be famous, and admired stars such as Judy Garland and Shirley Temple. A serious illness as a child caused a throat infection which, according to Cline, resulted in her gift of “a voice that boomed like Kate Smith’s.” Well-rounded in her musical tastes, Cline cited everyone from Kay Starr to Hank Williams as influences. As a child, she often sang in church with her mother. Cline was also a by-ear pianist who sang with perfect pitch.

Cline began performing in variety-talent showcases in and around Winchester. She asked WINC-AM disc jockey Jimmy McCoy if he would let her sing on his show, which he did. His program was a showcase for local talent.

To help support her family after her father abandoned them, she dropped out of high school and worked various jobs, soda jerking and waitressing by day at The Triangle Diner across the street from her school, John Handley High. At night, Cline could be found singing at local nightclubs, wearing fringed Western stage outfits that she designed and that her mother made.

Patsy Cline and her first husband, Gerald Cline in Nashville, TN (circa 1955)

In her early 20s, Cline met two men who would influence her rise to stardom. The first was contractor Gerald Cline, whom she married in 1953 and divorced in 1957. The dissolution of the marriage was blamed not only on a considerable age difference, but also Patsy Cline’s desire to sing professionally and Gerald Cline’s lack of support of her quest for stardom. While she dreamed of a career as a superstar, he wanted her to conform to the role of a housewife first. The second was Bill Peer, her new manager, who gave her the name Patsy, from her middle name and her mother’s maiden name, Patterson.

Cline’s numerous appearances on local radio attracted a large following in the Virginia-Maryland area—especially when Jimmy Dean learned of her. In 1954 she became a regular on Connie B. Gay’s Town and Country afternoon radio show on WARL-AM in Washington, DC, which also featured Dean, himself a young country star.

Jimmy Dean and Patsy Cline

In 1955, Cline was signed to Four Star Records. Her contract, however, only allowed her to record compositions by Four Star writers; Cline disliked this, and later expressed regret over signing with the label. Her first record for Four Star was “A Church, A Courtroom & Then Good-Bye”, which attracted little attention, although it did lead to several appearances on the Grand Ole Opry. Between 1955 and 1957, Cline also recorded honky tonk material, with songs like “Fingerprints”, “Pick Me Up On Your Way Down”, “Don’t Ever Leave Me Again”, and “A Stranger In My Arms”; the latter two both co-written by Cline, and she experimented with rockabilly. None of these songs, however, gained any notable success.

According to Owen Bradley, her Decca Records producer, the Four Star compositions only seemed to hint at the potential that lurked inside of Cline. Bradley thought her voice was best suited for singing pop music. The Four Star producers, however, insisted that Cline would record only country songs, as her contract also stated. During her contract with Four Star, she recorded 51 songs.

Patsy Cline's first major hit, "Walkin' After Midnight"

Cline made her network television debut on January 7, 1956 on ABC-TV’s Grand Ole Opry; followed by an appearance on the network’s Ozark Jubilee later that month, returning to the show in April. Later that year, while looking for material for her first album, Patsy Cline, a song appeared titled “Walkin’ After Midnight”, written by Don Hecht and Alan Block. Cline initially did not like the song because it was, according to her, “just a little old pop song.” However, the song’s writers and record label insisted she should record it.

She auditioned for Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts in New York City, and was accepted to sing on the CBS-TV show on January 21, 1957. Godfrey’s “discovery” of Cline was typical. Her scout, actually her mother, presented Patsy who initially was supposed to sing “A Poor Man’s Roses (Or a Rich Man’s Gold)”, but the show’s producers insisted she instead sing her recent release, “Walkin’ After Midnight”. Though heralded as a country song, recorded in Nashville, Godfrey’s staff insisted Cline not wear one of her mother’s hand-crafted cowgirl outfits but appear in a cocktail dress.

Patsy Cline performing

The audience’s enthusiastic ovations stopped the meter at its apex, and she won the competition and was invited to return. The song was so well-received that she released it as a single. In short, although Cline had been performing for almost a decade and had appeared nationally three times on ABC-TV, Godfrey was largely responsible for making her a star. For a couple of months thereafter, Cline appeared regularly on Godfrey’s radio program.

“Walkin’ After Midnight” reached No. 2 on the country chart and No. 12 on the pop chart, making Cline one of the first country singers to have a crossover pop hit. She rode high on the hit for the next year, making personal appearances and performing regularly on both Godfrey’s show, and for several years on Ozark Jubilee (later Jubilee USA). She could not follow it up with another hit, however, in part because of the deal with Four Star that limited her to recording songs only from its writers.

Cline co-wrote two songs, both in 1957 under her birth name, Virginia Hensley:

“A Stranger in My Arms”, written with Charlotte White, and Mary Lu Jeans and recorded on April 24, 1957. The song was released as a Decca 45 single (Decca 30406), on August 12, 1957 b/w “Three Cigarettes (In An Ashtray)”, and also as a 45 single on the Festival label as Festival SP45-1620.
“Don’t Ever Leave Me Again”, written with James E. Crawford, Jr., and Lillian N. Claiborne. “Don’t Ever Leave Me Again” appeared on the 1957 Decca LP Patsy Cline and was the title track of a 1991 compilation album released on Laser Light.

Patsy Cline and Charlie Dick on their wedding day

Also in 1957, she met Charlie Dick, a good-looking ladies’ man who frequented the local club circuit Cline played on weekends. His charismatic personality and admiration of Cline’s talents captured her attention. Their relationship resulted in a marriage that would last the rest of her life. Though their love affair has long been publicized as controversial, Cline regarded him as “the love of her life.” After the birth of their daughter, Julie, in 1958, they moved to Nashville, Tennessee.

In 1959, Cline met Randy Hughes, who became her manager. With Hughes’s promotion and a new label, Cline would begin her ascent to the top. When her Four Star contract expired in 1960, she signed with Decca Records-Nashville, under the direction of legendary producer Owen Bradley. He was not only responsible for much of the success behind Cline’s recording career, but he positively influenced the careers of Brenda Lee and Loretta Lynn as well.

Thanks to her vocal versatility, and with the help of Bradley’s direction and arrangements, Cline enjoyed both country and pop success. His arrangements incorporated strings and other instruments not typical of country recordings of the day. He considered Cline’s voice best-suited for country pop-crossover songs, and helped smooth her voice into the silky, torch song style for which she is famous. Nevertheless, she did not enjoy singing pop material. This new, more sophisticated instrumental style became known as The Nashville sound, created by Bradley and RCA’s Chet Atkins, who produced Jim Reeves, Connie Smith, and Eddy Arnold.

Patsy Cline's first single for Decca Records, "I Fall to Pieces"

Cline’s first Decca release was the country pop ballad, “I Fall to Pieces” (1961), written by Hank Cochran and Harlan Howard. The song was promoted at both country and pop music stations across the country, leading to success on both country and pop charts. The song slowly climbed to the top of the country chart—Cline’s first number one. The song also made No. 12 on the pop chart, as well as No. 6 on the adult contemporary chart, a major feat for any country singer at the time. The song made her a household name, demonstrating that a woman country singer could enjoy as much crossover success as a man.

In 1960, Cline joined the cast of the Grand Ole Opry, realizing a lifelong dream. She became one of the Opry’s biggest stars, and is believed to be the only person granted membership by asking.

Believing that there was “room enough for everybody,” and confident of her abilities and appeal, Cline befriended and encouraged a number of women starting out in country music, including Loretta Lynn, Dottie West, Barbara Mandrell (with whom Cline once toured), Jan Howard and Brenda Lee, all of whom cite her as an influence. According to Lynn and West, Cline always gave of herself to friends, buying them groceries and furniture when they were hard up. On occasion, she would even pay their rent, enabling them to stay in Nashville and continue their careers. In Ellis Nassour’s 1980 biography Patsy Cline, Cline’s friend, honky tonk pianist and Opry star Del Wood, was quoted as saying, “Even when she didn’t have it, she’d spend it—and not always on herself. She’d give anyone the skirt off her backside if they needed it.”

Ferlin Husky, Patsy Cline, Faron Young and Jerry Reed (circa 1958)

Cline also befriended Roger Miller, Hank Cochran, Faron Young, Ferlin Husky, Harlan Howard and Carl Perkins, male artists and songwriters with whom she socialized at Tootsies Orchid Lounge next door to the Grand Ole Opry.

In the 1986 documentary The Real Patsy Cline, singer George Riddle said of her, “It wasn’t unusual for her to sit down and have a beer and tell a joke. She’d never be offended at the guys’ jokes, because most of the time she’d tell a joke better than you! Patsy was full of life, as I remember.”

Cline used the term of endearment “Hoss” to refer to her friends, and referred to herself as The Cline. According to the book “Honky Tonk Angel: The Intimate Story of Patsy Cline” by Ellis Nassour, Patsy Cline met Elvis Presley in 1962 at a fundraiser at St. Judes and they even exchanged phone numbers. Having seen him perform during one of his rare Grand Ole Opry appearances, she admired his music, called him The Big Hoss, and recorded with his backup group, The Jordanaires.

Patsy Cline

Cline was in control of her own career, making it clear that she could stand up to any man—verbally and professionally—and challenge their rules if they got in the way of where she felt her career should be headed. In a time when concert promoters often cheated stars out of their money by promising to pay them after the show but running with the money during the concert, Cline stood up to many of the male promoters before she took the stage and demanded their money by proclaiming: “No dough, no show.” According to friend Roy Drusky in the 1986 documentary The Real Patsy Cline: “Before one concert, we hadn’t been paid. And we were talking about who was going to tell the audience that we couldn’t perform without pay. Patsy said, ‘I’ll tell ‘em!’ And she did!” Friend Dottie West stated, “It was common knowledge around town that you didn’t mess with ‘The Cline!’”

Cline continued to thrive in 1961, and gave birth to a son, Randy. On June 14, 1961, she and her brother, Sam, were involved in a head-on car collision on Old Hickory Boulevard in Nashville, the second and more serious of two during her lifetime. The impact threw Cline into the windshield, nearly killing her. Upon arriving, Dottie West picked glass from Patsy’s hair, and went with her in the ambulance. While that happened, Patsy insisted that the other car’s driver be treated first. This had a long-term detrimental effect on Ms. West; when West was fatally injured in a car accident in 1991, she insisted that the driver of her car be treated first, possibly causing her own death. Cline later stated that she saw the female driver of the other car die before her eyes at the hospital.

Patsy Cline

Suffering from a jagged cut across her forehead that required stitches, a broken wrist and a dislocated hip, she spent a month hospitalized. While in the hospital, Cline, according to the Nassour biography Patsy Cline and to friend Billy Walker (who died in a vehicle accident in 2006), rededicated her life to Christianity. She received thousands of cards and flowers sent by fans. When she left the hospital, her forehead was still visibly scarred. For the remainder of her career, she wore wigs and makeup to hide the scars, and headbands to relieve pressure on her forehead. She returned to the road on crutches, determined to be a survivor with a new appreciation for life.

In the 1990s, a series of recordings from her first concert after the accident were released. These archives, recorded in Tulsa, Oklahoma, were found in the attic of one of Cline’s former residences by the current owners and given to the family. The album, released in 1997, is titled Patsy Cline: Live At the Cimarron Ballroom. and features dialogue of Cline interacting with the audience, providing an historical archive of what her live performances were like.

Willie Nelson about the time he wrote Patsy Cline's signature song, "Crazy"

After the success of “I Fall to Pieces”, Cline needed a follow-up after a month lost from touring and promotions. Written by Willie Nelson, it was called “Crazy”, which Cline originally hated. Her first session recording was a disaster, and Cline claimed that the song was too difficult to sing. She tried to record “Crazy” like its demo recording, which featured Nelson’s idiosyncratic style, but had a tough time recording it not only because of the demo, but also because she found the high notes hard to sing due to injured ribs from her car accident. The day in the studio at Decca resulted in a head-on fight between Cline and Bradley.

Cline recorded the song the next week in one take, a version completely different from the demo. It became a classic and, ultimately, Cline’s signature song—and the one for which she remains best known. In late 1961, the song was an immediate country pop crossover hit, and also constituted her biggest pop hit, making the Top 10. Loretta Lynn later reported that the night Cline premiered “Crazy” at the Grand Ole Opry, she received three standing ovations.

“Crazy” was a hit on three different charts in late 1961 and early 1962—the Hot Country Songs list (No. 2), the US Hot 100 list (No. 9), and the Adult Contemporary list (also No. 2). An album released that November entitled Patsy Cline Showcase featured Cline’s two hits of 1961.

Patsy Cline

With Cline’s success climbing the record charts, she was in high demand on the concert circuit. Although many women in country music at that time were considered “window dressing” or opening acts for the more popular and higher-paid male stars, Cline was the first to headline her own show and receive top billing above some of the male stars with whom she toured. While bands typically backed up the female singer, Cline led the band through the concert instead. She was so respected by men in the industry, that rather than being introduced to audiences as “Pretty Miss Patsy Cline” as her female contemporaries often were, she was given a more stately introduction such as that given by Johnny Cash on their 1962 tour together: “Ladies and gentlemen, the one and only Patsy Cline.” As an artist, she held her fan base in extremely high regard (many of whom became friends), staying for hours after concerts to chat and sign autographs.

Cline was not only the first woman in country music to perform at New York’s Carnegie Hall (which she did with fellow Opry members and disapproval from gossip columnist Dorothy Kilgallen—whom Cline fired back at) but also to headline the Hollywood Bowl with Johnny Cash and, later, in 1962, the first woman in country music to headline her own show in Las Vegas.

The house Vegas built - Patsy Cline's modest home in the Goodlettsville suburb of Nashville, TN

This success enabled Cline to buy her dream home in Nashville’s Goodlettsville community, personally decorated in her style featuring gold dust sprinkled in the bathroom tiles and a music room. Loretta Lynn stated in a 1986 documentary interview, “She called me into the front yard and said, ‘Isn’t this pretty? Now I’ll never be happy until I have my Mama one just like it.’” Cline called her home “the house that Vegas built” since she was able to pay it off with the money she earned during her time there. (Later, after Cline’s death in 1963, Cline’s home was sold by her husband to singer Wilma Burgess who told Patsy Cline author Ellis Nassour that “strange occurrences” happened during her years there.)

With this new demand for Cline came a higher price tag, and reportedly towards the end of her life, she was being paid at least $1,000 for appearances—then an unheard-of fee for women in the country music industry, since they usually grossed less than $200. Her penultimate concert, held in Birmingham, Alabama, grossed $3,000.

Patsy Cline (circa 1962)

To match her new sophisticated sound, Cline also reinvented her personal style, shedding her trademark Western cowgirl outfits for elegant sequined gowns, cocktail dresses, spiked heels, and even gold lame pants. Cline’s new image was considered riskier and sexier by a then-conservative country music industry more accustomed to gingham and calico dresses for women. But like her sound, Cline’s style in fashion was mocked by many at first, then copied. She also loved dangly earrings and ruby-red lipstick; her favorite perfume was Wind Song.

During her short career of only five-and-a-half years, Cline received 12 awards for her achievements and three more following her death. Most were from Cashbox, Music Reporter, and Billboard Awards, considered high honors during her time. (Awards such as the ACM and CMAs were not established until after her death, and the Nashville chapter of the Grammys wasn’t founded until 1964.)

Cline wrote of her success in a letter to friend Anne Armstrong (from the 1993 documentary Remembering Patsy): “It’s wonderful—but what do I do for ’63? Its getting so even I can’t follow Cline!”

In late 1961, Cline was back in the studio to record songs for her upcoming album in 1962. One of the first songs recorded in late 1961 was the song “She’s Got You”, written by Hank Cochran, who pitched the song over the phone to Cline. It was one of the few songs Cline enjoyed recording. The song was released as a single in January 1962, and soon was another country pop crossover hit, reaching No. 1 on the country chart again (her second and last chart-topper), No. 14 on the pop charts, and No. 3 on the adult contemporary charts (originally called “Easy Listening”). It would be Cline’s last Top 40 Pop hit.

Patsy Cline's hit song, "She's Got You"

“She’s Got You” was also Cline’s first entry in the U.K. singles chart, covered by one of Britain’s most popular female artists, Alma Cogan; it reached No. 43. Her biggest U.K. record sales Hit Parade entry before her death was her version of the standard tune “Heartaches,” reaching the Top 30 in late 1962.

Following the success of “She’s Got You,” Cline enjoyed a string of smaller country hits, including the Top 10 “When I Get Thru’ With You”, “Imagine That”, “So Wrong”, and “Heartaches”. These hits were not big crossover pop hits as her previous three had been on the country charts; but were Top 10 and 20 hits.

In late 1962, Cline appeared on American Bandstand and released her third album in August, Sentimentally Yours. When asked in a WSM-AM interview about her vocal stylings, Cline stated, “Oh, I just sing like I hurt inside.”

Though she was in high demand and her career was at its peak, the wear and tear of the road and business began to present the possibility of a hiatus for Cline, who longed to spend more time raising her children, Julie and Randy, especially after heading her own show at the Mint Casino in Las Vegas at the end of 1962.

Faded Love

A month before her death, Cline went into the studio to record her fourth album, Faded Love. Recording a mix of country standards and such vintage pop classics as Irving Berlin’s “Always” and “Does Your Heart Beat for Me”, these sessions proved to be the most contemporary-sounding of her career, without any country music instruments and featuring a full string section. (Owen Bradley told Patsy author Margaret Jones that he and Cline had even talked of doing an album of show tunes and standards before her death, including “Can’t Help Loving That Man of Mine”, since Cline was a fan of Helen Morgan.)

Cline, so involved with the story in the song’s lyrics, reportedly cried through most of what would be her last sessions. This emotion can be heard on certain tracks, especially “Sweet Dreams” and “Faded Love”. At the playback party that night at the studio, according to singer Jan Howard on the documentary Remembering Patsy, Cline held up a copy of her first record and a copy of her newest tracks and stated, “Well, here it is…the first and the last.”

As stated in the Nassour biography, Patsy Cline, friends Dottie West and June Carter Cash both recalled Cline telling them that she felt a sense of impending doom and didn’t expect to live much longer in the months leading up to her death. Cline also told Loretta Lynn of this, along with Cash and West, as early as September 1962. Cline, though known for her extreme generosity, even began giving away personal items to friends, writing out her own last will on Delta Air Lines stationery and asking close friends to care for her children if anything should happen to her. She reportedly told Jordanaire back up singer Ray Walker as she exited the Grand Ole Opry a week before her death: “Honey, I’ve had two bad ones (accidents). The third one will either be a charm or it’ll kill me.”

Patsy Cline backstage before her final show on March 3, 1963 in Kansas City, KS

On March 3, 1963, Cline, though ill with the flu, gave a performance at a benefit show at the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall, Kansas City, Kansas, for the family of a disc jockey, Cactus Jack Call, who had recently died in an automobile accident. Also performing on the show were George Jones, George Riddle and The Jones Boys, Billy Walker, Dottie West, Cowboy Copas, Hawkshaw Hawkins, Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper, and George McCormick and the Clinch Mountain Clan. The three shows, at 2:00, 5:15 and 8:00 p.m. were standing-room only. For the 2 p.m. show, she wore a sky-blue tulle-laden dress, for the 5:15 show a red shocker and for the closing show at 8 p.m. Cline wore a white chiffon gown and closed the show with her performance to a thunderous ovation. Her last song was the last one she recorded during her last sessions the previous month, “I’ll Sail My Ship Alone”.

Dottie West, wary of Cline flying, asked her to ride back in the car with her and her husband, Bill. Cline, anxious to get home to her children, refused West’s offer, saying, “Don’t worry about me, Hoss. When it’s my time to go, it’s my time.” Poor weather delayed their departure by a day, and on March 5, she called her mother from the airport and then boarded a Piper Comanche bound for Nashville. The pilot was her manager Randy Hughes, with passengers Cowboy Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins, who had taken Billy Walker’s seat. After stopping to refuel in Dyersburg, Tennessee, the plane took off at 6:07 p.m. CT. According to revelations by the airfield manager in the Nassour biography, he suggested that they stay the night after advising of high winds and inclement weather on the flight path, but Hughes responded, “I’ve already come this far. We’ll be there before you know it.”

The plane flew into severe weather, however, and according to Cline’s wristwatch, crashed at 6:20 p.m. in a forest outside of Camden, Tennessee, 90 miles from the destination. There were no survivors. Throughout the night, reports of the missing plane flooded the radio airwaves.

The Nashville Banner announces the deaths of Patsy Cline, Hawkshaw Hawkins, Cowboy Copas, and Randy Hughes

Roger Miller told Patsy Cline author Nassour that he and a friend went searching for survivors in the early hours of the morning: “As fast as I could, I ran through the woods screaming their names—through the brush and the trees, and I came up over this little rise, oh, my God, there they were. It was ghastly. The plane had crashed nose down.” Not long after the bodies were removed, scavengers came to take what they could of the stars’ personal belongings and pieces of the plane. Many of these items were later donated to The Country Music Hall of Fame, including Patsy’s beloved Confederate Flag cigarette lighter which played “Dixie”, her wrist watch, belt with ‘Patsy Cline’ studded across it and one of 3 pairs of her gold lame slippers which were featured on the revised version of her Showcase With The Jordanaires album. However, the white chiffon dress that Cline had worn for her last performance and the money bag carrying the star’s payment for their last concert were never found.

As per her wishes, Cline was brought home to her dream house for the last time before her memorial service, which thousands attended. Hours later, news surfaced that singer Jack Anglin of country duo Johnnie and Jack fame had died on the way to her service, and the Opry mounted a tribute show to honor the victims.

A memorial stone marks the site of the fatal plane crash in a forest outside of Camden, TN

She was buried in her hometown of Winchester, Virginia, at Shenandoah Memorial Park. Her grave is marked with a simple bronze plaque, which reads: Virginia H (Patsy) Cline “Death Cannot Kill What Never Dies: Love.” A bell tower in her memory at the cemetery, erected with the help of Loretta Lynn and Dottie West, plays hymns daily at 6:00 p.m., the hour of her death. A memorial marks the place where the plane crashed in the still-remote forest outside of Camden, Tennessee.

In December 1998, Cline’s mother, Hilda Hensley, died in Winchester, Virginia of natural causes. (Cline’s father had died in the 1950s.) Hensley rarely granted interviews, living the rest of her life practicing her craft as a master seamstress in Winchester and helping to raise her grandchildren. Cline’s daughter, Julie, stated in a 1985 People Magazine article: “Grannie loved my mother so much that it’s still hard for her to talk about her.” Hensley stated in her later years that the outpouring of love given to her by Cline’s fans over the years had been amazing. “I never knew so many people loved my daughter,” she told one newspaper.

Because Cline and her mother were so close in age, Cline often commented that her mother was also her best friend and the one person she could truly count on. Hensley also commented that Cline was a “wonderful daughter” who never let her family down in the hard times they endured. Cline’s brother died in 2004, though her sister still lives in Virginia.

Patsy Cline's widower, Charlie Dick and their daughter, Julie

Charlie Dick resides in Nashville, where he continues to be a member of the country music community, producing documentaries on Cline and other artists through a video production company. Dick is involved with Cline’s fan base and considers them an extension of family, attending many fan functions. Daughter Julie joins him in representing Cline’s estate at public functions and has four children of her own (one, Virginia, named for Cline, was killed in an automobile accident in 1994) and five grandchildren. Son Randy was the drummer of a Nashville band, although he chooses not to live in the limelight. Dick’s brother, Mel, heads up the “Always… Patsy Cline” fan organization.

After Cline’s death, Dick married singer Jamey Ryan in 1965, but they were divorced a few years later. Ryan provided the vocals for three songs in the film Sweet Dreams: “Bill Bailey (Won’t You Please Come Home)”, “Rollin’ In My Sweet Baby’s Arms” and “Blue Christmas” (a tune Cline never recorded). Ryan’s sound is so close to Cline’s that some fans search Cline’s discography trying to find these two songs but discover that the tracks were recorded solely for the film and were not included on the soundtrack.

Guitarist-producer Harold Bradley said of Cline in the 2003 book Remembering Patsy, “She’s taken the standards for being a country music vocalist, and she raised the bar. Women, even now, are trying to get to that bar…. If you’re going to be a country singer, if you’re not going to copy her—and most people do come to town copying her—then you have to be aware of how she did it. It’s always good to know what was in the past because you think you’re pretty hot until you hear her…. It gives all the female singers coming in something to gauge their talents against. And I expect it will forever.”

In 1993, the US Postal Service honored Patsy Cline with a stamp

When Cline made her first recordings in 1955, Kitty Wells, known as The Queen of Country Music, was the top female vocalist in the field. By the time Cline broke through as a consistent hit-maker in 1961, Wells was still country’s biggest female star; however, Cline dethroned her by winning Billboard magazine’s Favorite Female Country & Western Artist for two years in a row and the 1962 Music Reporter Star of The Year award.

The two country queens could not have been more different, given that Cline’s full-throated sophisticated sound was a marked contrast to Wells’ pure-country, quivering vocals. Though Cline had gained attention on country and pop charts, she did not think of herself as anything other than a country singer and was known for her humility in her motto: “I don’t want to get rich—just live good.”

Patsy Cline (Video) "Walkin' After Midnight" Full Ver.

2011-11-17T15:19:00.001-08:00

Patsy Cline - Blue Moon Of Kentucky

2011-11-17T15:19:00.000-08:00

Patsy Cline - I Fall To Pieces

2011-11-17T15:18:00.000-08:00

11/17/11 Movie of the Day: The Busby Berkeley Disc

2011-11-17T12:30:00.000-08:00

The movie of the day today is actually a compilation DVD called the BUSBY BERKELEY DISC, which is basically just all the musical numbers from the many movies Berkeley choreographed in the 30's and 40's. I recommend this DVD specifically 'cause, really, who cares about the plot or characters in these old movies...it's just about the crazy sets and camera angels and costumes and dancing. Each movie has a very formulaic structure, with the biggest musical number at the end of the film. And the biggest one is always the best. CLICK ON THE THREE BERKELEY LINKS BELOW. They start off slow, but get incredible. I can't believe all this stuff is on youtube. Anyway, Rhett, my baby bloodhound, is chewing on my hands like he needs to go out, so I gotta take him. I'll be back later for today's book and music and COMMENTS. A love supreme.
n

Buzz: The Life and Art of Busby Berkeley

Artists frequently blur the lines between fantasy and reality, but none as uniquely as Busby Berkeley. People today may remember Berkeley as the visionary behind those human geometric designs that beguiled Hollywood audiences during the 1930's and 40's, but Jeffrey Spivak's new biography "Buzz: The Life and Art of Busby Berkeley" paints a deeper portrait of a true artistic innovator and an often troubled human being.

The loud, irascible and demanding director of the "42nd Street" film may not have been fiction at all in fact, but a close approximation of its dance director's combustible personality. Busby Berkeley's career goal was little more than to entertain an audience that had been engulfed in Depression. His cinematic extravaganzas took Americans out of the breadlines and despair of the Great Depression and into a surreal fantasy of pure imagination, if only for an hour or two.

There were plenty of people who didn't like the man, among them actress Dona Massin, who is quoted in describing Berkeley as "No talent; all he had to do was pick up a kaleidoscope and he had his routine". As Spivak tells us, that's hardly a complete or even accurate assessment of a man whose fertile imagination never ran short of ideas as he constantly reinvented not only himself but his art.

Perhaps no book can give the full effect of Berkeley's work, although Spivak makes a game attempt at describing the increasingly lavish spectacles that filled the screen in such titles as "42nd Street," "Gold Diggers," "Footlight Parade," and the popular line of Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland films. Whether it was fifty rocking chairs, a fleet of baby grand pianos, a human waterfall, or a patriotic reminder of America's "forgotten men," Berkeley's signature style was distinct and dramatic. He pioneered the use of a single camera on a monorail track often suspended fifty to eighty feet in the air for those visionary top shots. Best known for his musicals, Berkeley also displayed a knack for the occasional drama, and his stage revival of "No, No, Nanette" started the whole nostalgia craze in the early 1970's. Such Broadway shows as "42nd Street" and Off Broadway's "Dames at Sea" were homage to the Berkeley canon.

As a human being, old Buzz could certainly be a bastard and a tyrant to work for. "Dat man ees crazy," Latin bombshell Carmen Miranda steamed to the press when the director's camera came too close for comfort while shooting her "Tutti Frutti" number in "The Gang's All Here" (pictured left). "Hookay. Thees time make with the careful," she scolded him. "Knock one banana off my head and I will make of you de flat pancake". That juicy little scene was probably more dramatic than anything that ended up on screen.

The Miranda incident wasn't the only torrential encounter Buzz had with one of his stars. When Ann Miller requested a pause in shooting a tap number to bandage her blistered foot, he barked "I don't care about you and I don't care about your blister. I care about the studio and I have to bring this thing in tonight and if you don't like it, it's too bad, but you're doing it!" He nearly drove Judy Garland over the deep end filming "I Got Rythm" for "Girl Crazy," and their ill-fated reunion several years later for the big-screen version of "Annie Get Your Gun" never made it past the first two numbers. Judy's dependency on prescription drugs and Buzz's lack of vision in tackling Irving Berlin's Wild West musical cost them both their jobs at MGM. He rarely gave much thought to his performers' feelings or safety, as a life threatening escapade with swimming goddess Esther Williams illustrates.

Busby Berkeley William Enos (who dropped the latter half of his birth name possibly because it wouldn't all fit on a marquee) was the son of vaudevillians. He made his stage debut at a tender age quite unplanned and carefully concealed behind his older brother George's Arabian costume. When tragedy struck both father Frank and brother George, Buzz took on leading man billing to his increasingly co-dependent actress mother Gertrude. It was a relationship as powerful as any mother-son bond could be. Looking over Buzz's six marriages, it's hard not to draw some Freudian conclusions. Interestingly enough, his final and most enduring matrimonial alliance was with a woman far more motherly and down to earth than any of her glamorous and younger fame-seeking predecessors.

The book presents an even-handed picture of its subject without concealing his many blemishes. Berkeley's biggest weaknesses in life were undoubtedly women and liquor; the latter may have in fact played in a deadly role in a 1935 car accident that took three innocent lives. Berkeley was tried three times for manslaughter and drunk driving, ultimately being found not guilty thanks to the machinations of a well-paid studio lawyer, his innocence vindicated in the courts if not the eyes of the public.

We see the theatrical influence of his youth spent touring the vaudeville circuit on his later cinematic creations, which often took place ostensibly in a live theatre or nightclub, giving way to the kind of larger-than-life whimsy no proscenium could ever contain. Also, his servce in World War I as a 2nd Lieutenant in the US Army no doubt inspired the military drill precision of his screen dance routines. Berkeley never considered himself a choreographer. Indeed, it was his manipulation of that single moving camera in all sorts of revolutionary arrangements that made the name Busby Berkeley synonymous with early movie musicals.

The stories of those films were usually the least of their attributes, and Berkeley's "stacked" production numbers (frequently tacked on in the films' final reel so as to afford an easy edit and to allow the audiences to forget any lapses that preceded them) and close-up parade of beautiful faces had nothing to do with the rest of the films at all. They were all diversions in which waterfalls came to life, pianos danced and dreams became legends. Busby Berkeley was to the screen what Florenz Ziegfeld was to the stage: a visionary of monumental scale who trumpeted the glories of American feminine beauty. His work today may come across as camp, but taken within its proper historical context under Spivak's 367 page analysis, it's hard to argue that Berkeley was one of the cinema's greatest and most original talents. Click here to buy the book.

The Busby Berkeley disc is an essential companion to this study on the legendary director. It contains 21 complete musical numbers from Berkeley's prodigious career at Warner Brothers Studio.

Spin a Little Web of Dreams (Busby Berkeley)

2011-11-17T12:25:00.000-08:00

Gold Diggers of 1933 - Shadow Waltz

2011-11-17T12:22:00.000-08:00

By A Waterfall (1933) - Choreography by Busby Berkeley

2011-11-17T12:21:00.000-08:00

11/16/11 Book of the Day: DOPEFIEND

2011-11-16T17:51:00.001-08:00

Donald Goines is a total genius story teller. His writing is so effortless and quick and compelling. His books are like movies. Whoreson was the first book of Goines's that I read, about the son of a prostitute named Whoreson (the mom's reasoning being, that way the boy will have to own where he comes from right from the start...you know, with a name like Whoreson). And even though I loved, LOVED Whoreson, I gotta say, I think Goines's book, Dopefiend, is his best. Seriously, it is the most brutal and REAL depiction of heroin addiction I've ever read. I'd rate it above Burrough's Junky and Stahl's Permanent Midnight, for sure (even though both those books are great, too). Goines's voice is clear and unaffected and profoundly fucking honest. Why he's not a huge name everyone's heard of, I really have no idea. Actually, I guess I do. I mean, from what I understand, he's the #1 bestselling black author of all time...so he is a big name...just not in the bullshit literati community. But, truly, I feel like Dopefiend should be required reading in all high schools.
Here's more about Donald Goines:
A Profile of Donald Goines
(a.k.a. Al C. Clark)

Donald Writes No More: A Biography of Donald Goines
Click to order via Amazon

ISBN: 087067949X
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Pub. Date: October 2001
Publisher: Holloway House Publishing Company

by Eddie Stone

Donald Goines was all of these things. He started as a kid, the product of a middle-class family. After high school he joined the Navy, and discovered the heroin that would rule the remainder of his life. On the streets, he turned to writing when he was straight enough to keep at it. He used the language of the streets and wrote of the streets and its people. His success was immediate and exciting, But eventually the streets claimed him. He was murdered as he sat writing a new book. Here for the first time is the completed story.

To truly appreciate, as well as, recognize Donald Goines, the Author, there is no need to mention, what he did, how he lived, or why he died. It is only necessary to acknowledge the fact that although his time line will read, born 1936 (in Detroit, Michigan), deceased 1974; his genius as a writer has landed him a place in literary immortality.

To do, what Donald Goines did, write sixteen books in five years is a feat that rivals Wilt Chamberlain averaging over fifty points a game for an entire professional basketball season. Or Jim Brown rushing for twelve thousand yards in 9 professional football seasons. The emphasis on the word professional is to indicate that these men performed at an exceptionally eminent level against those deemed to be the very best. And they shined brighter than all that competed with and against them. Donald Goines epitomized professionalism in his short career as a writer.

What Donald Goines did, just isn’t accomplished all that often. But, more importantly, sixteen substantial works that paint a picture of life on the streets that can and will leave one’s mind awestruck. From Dopefiend, which takes you deep inside the psyche of not only the drug addict, but the sick and twisted life of a drug dealer. Or, Black Girl Lost, a story about a young teenager who somehow finds love amidst the turmoil of alcoholism, abuse, drugs, and murder. To a four book series based on the visions and dreams of Kenyatta. A man Donald crafted to be the savior of his people. Not a savior in the biblical sense in terms of asking Christ for salvation, but a savior to all those trapped within the walls of the ghetto slums. Kenyatta was portrayed as a savior from police brutality. A savior in his efforts to eradicate the drugs that were destroying his people. A savior in his desire to give hope to those who had lost all thoughts of ever having anything more than what life had so unceremoniously left for them; little to nothing.

Indeed, Donald Goines gift was in painting a picture that had nothing to do with glorifying lifestyles that society looks down upon. After all, murderers, pimps, prostitutes, thieves, and drug addicts aren’t viewed as distinguished career options. What he did do was recount allegories based on what was authentic to him. Only because all of what Donald Goines wrote about, he himself had lived to some degree, at some point in his lifetime.

The glamour of easy money, fast women, and fine cars, was not coupled with fairy tale endings. If you’re looking for a rainbow in the sky and the pot of gold at the end, you won’t find it while reading Donald Goines. His works are as real as a blue sky and honest as a mother’s love.

So, how do we honor Donald Goines, the Author? Do we give him his own word? After all commentators all over the country refer to a great basketball move as being, Jordanesque! Or do we build a statue, a monument, a high school, or better still, name a street after him? Or do we just insure that the next generation of readers has the same opportunity as generations before them, to experience the writings of Donald Goines.

Donald Goines wrote with a passion that leaves no doubt about his love for the written word and his desire to share with all, a glimpse inside his own unique and very special world. Marvelous!

AND from Wikipedia:

Death

Goines and his common-law wife were shot to death in Detroit on the night of October 21, 1974. According to some sources, Goines was gunned down over a failed drug deal.^[4] But it is popularly believed that he was murdered by neighborhood criminals who objected to characters and storylines that they thought were based on themselves and thus clues to their identities and crimes. The identity of the killer or killers remains unknown.

So, yeah, book of the day: Dopefiend...

Oh, and p.s. I hope this new format is working out alright. Unbroken, thank you so much for your comment on that Penny and the Quarters song...so beautiful, right? It was me'n Jette's first dance song at our wedding. And, while I know it was made popular by Blue Valentine, I hope the song will long outlast that stupid movie. I mean, that song was the best part of that movie. Seriously. Irishize33, thank you for your kind words. As fucked up as jail can be, I know quite a lot of people, actually, who say it was the best thing that ever happened to them--that it save their lives--and they've been clean ever since. So, yeah, jail doesn't have to be all bad. There can be hope in incarceration, so thanks for posting that, too. Oh, and you're right, Anancient should start her own blog...that's brilliant. SO DO IT, girl. I'm trying to erase your comments, but you're too relentless for me. And, to Pacifica, that's my only excuse for that. I need to hire a comment eraser just to keep up. Are you (Pacifica) home for t-giving? And Tessalexandra, where you at? And Lily, haha...I do hope ya'll like this shit I'm posting. I'm always looking for new movies/music/books to check out, so I hope this helps. I'm really a dork and spend a lot of time learning about all this shyt. Sumner, I see you're reading this too, my man...thank you! I love you, dude. Happy you like the Boswell Sisters...their singing is super awesome...and that article was interesting talking about how they did all the arrangements themselves and everything. Alright, word. A love supreme. Oh, and mom, if you're reading this, don't be mad at me, I didn't mean it like that. Anyway, who cares about that old shit. Love...till tomorrow...n

Joy Division - Transmission (High Quality)

2011-11-16T16:30:00.000-08:00

Shadowplay- Joy Division

2011-11-16T16:28:00.000-08:00

Joy Division - Digital (Live)

2011-11-16T16:21:00.000-08:00

11/16/11 Music of the Day: Joy Division

2011-11-16T16:18:00.000-08:00

Joy Division is not a very, uh...unique choice, I know, for Music of the Day.
I mean, everybody loves Joy Division...
Their genius (well, Ian Curtis's genius) is undeniable.
And the music is so visceral and intensely beautiful.
The song I posted, Digital, in particular, is one of my favorites.
Whereas I think Transmission was their biggest "hit"...and a damn good song.
Here, from Wikipedia:

Joy Division were an English rock band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. Originally named Warsaw, the band primarily consisted of Ian Curtis (vocals and occasional guitar), Bernard Sumner (guitar and keyboards),^[1] Peter Hook (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Stephen Morris (drums and percussion).

Joy Division rapidly evolved from their initial punk rock influences to develop a sound and style that pioneered the post-punk movement of the late 1970s. According to music critic Jon Savage, the band "were not punk but were directly inspired by its energy".^[2] Their self-released 1978 debut EP, An Ideal for Living, caught the attention of the Manchester television personality Tony Wilson. Joy Division's debut album, Unknown Pleasures, was released in 1979 on Wilson's independent record label, Factory Records, and drew critical acclaim from the British press. Despite the band's growing success, vocalist Ian Curtis was beset with depression and personal difficulties, including a dissolving marriage and his diagnosis of epilepsy. Curtis found it increasingly difficult to perform at live concerts, and often had seizures during performances.

On the eve of the band's first American tour in May 1980, Curtis, overwhelmed with depression, committed suicide. Joy Division's posthumously released second album, Closer (1980), and the single "Love Will Tear Us Apart" became the band's highest charting releases. After the death of Curtis, the remaining members continued as New Order, achieving critical and commercial success.

11/16/11 Movie of da Day: Sex and Fury

2011-11-16T14:19:00.001-08:00

Movie of the Day!! 11/16/11
Sex and Fury!
1973
Supposedly the inspiration (in part) for Kill Bill...but also, I would argue, for the awesome fight scene in the bath house in Cronenberg's Eastern Promises.
Seriously, a fun, awesome, 70's exploitation flick...
And beautiful, too...
Plus it has Christina Lindberg, my childhood movie star crush...

Sex And Fury: Prime Japanese Trash Cinema

Posted on 10.06.05 by David @ 11:15 am

AKA: Furyo Anego-den – Inoshika Ocho; Story of a Bad Elder Sister – A Deer Amongst Wild Boars
Country and Year: Japan (1973)
Director: Norifumi Suzuki
Starring: Reiko Ike, Christina Lindberg, Masataka Naruse, Hiroshi Nawa

Review By: David Austin
Rating: 4 out of 4 stars (great)

Sex and Fury is glorious, mind-blowing trash – the kind of film that gives exploitation cinema a good name. From a nude Reiko Ike massacring an entire yakuza gang in a snowy courtyard, to the confrontation with a group of switchblade-wielding nuns on a moving train, director Norifumi Suzuki delivered the goods – and created a pop trash tour-de-force in the process. Throw in psychedelic sets and colors, and a dolled-up Christina Lindberg, and you’ve got a film that no fan of Japanese exploitation should pass up.

Sex and Fury is the female yakuza period piece, taken to the next illogical level. In 1968, actress Junko Fuji had moved into traditionally male territory by starring in the Red Peony Gambler series. Red Peony Gambler created a feminine alternative to the archetypal wandering yakuza loner perhaps best embodied by Shintaro Katsu in his Zatoichi and Wicked Priest roles. Between 1972 and 1974, Meiko Kaji starred in the Female Convict Scorpion and Lady Snowblood films, baroque, violent and sexy exploitation masterpieces. Sex and Fury was Toei’s response to, and escalation of, this trend. Facing devastating competition from television, Toei did the only thing it thought it could - cram its movies with enough sex and violence to choke a horse in a desperate attempt to put asses on the seats. The resulting Pinky Violence and Roman Porno genres are a mixed bag, both morally and aesthetically, but the positive elements in Sex and Fury far outweigh the negative.

Sex and Fury is a cross between the period-piece revenge plot of Lady Snowblood and the lurid sexuality and over-the-top artiness of the first two Female Convict Scorpion movies (which I highly recommend). Director Norifumi Suzuki (School of the Holy Beast, Shogun’s Ninja) took the best of both worlds, and added in the parallel plotting of a Zatoichi film. The film moves at a crackling pace, and entertains from start to finish.

Suzuki makes the visuals the third star, staging the actions in ways that would make the better-known Seijun Suzuki proud. The pulsating torture disco, blasphemous S&M torture session in front of a cubist Jesus, and a whirling assault on a Mondrian-inspired tatami mat floor, among other stand-out scenes should satisfy any viewer’s appetite for eye candy. (I’m happy to note that in the last year, several of Suzuki’s previously AWOL films have become available on Region 1 DVD.)

Sex and Fury kicks off with the assassination of a detective by nameless thugs. His last act is to give his daughter, the only witness, a clue to the identity of his killers – three hanafuda cards, the deer, the boar, and the butterfly. Flash forward 20 years to 1905, and the daughter is now the gorgeous and deadly Reiko Ike, who takes a new name, Inoshika Ocho, from her quarry (ino = boar, shika = deer, ocho = butterfly). Meanwhile, gang boss and political fixer Kurokawa (Seizaburo Kawazu) and his flunky Iwakura (Hiroshi Nawa) consolidate the power of their Seishinkai Group, carving out territory in an increasingly confident and modernized Japan.

Ocho, now a renowned gambler and thief, butts heads with the Seishinkai after a dying yakuza gambler asks her to help his sister, the object of Iwakura’s lust (the death scene lead to my favorite line in the film: “Hell waits right beneath the gambling mat”). Two other individuals also cross Ocho’s path. The first is Shunosuke (Masataka Naruse), the dashing son of a murdered rival of the Seishinkai, sporting manga-hair and a mile-wide grudge against Kurokawa. The second is Christina (Christina Lindberg), a mysterious westerner, talented both with a gun and at the gambling table. And, unsurprisingly, events ultimately tie into the unresolved slaying of Ocho’s father.

Reiko Ike (Streetfighter’s Last Revenge, Battles without Honor and Humanity) is no Meiko Kaji, but she’s the next best thing (still nowhere near – Meiko Kaji is untouchable). Ike has striking features, a great figure, and throws herself into her role with gusto. The highlight is unquestionably the lengthy fight sequence when Ocho is surprised by attackers in the bath, and proceeds to slaughter wave after wave of knife-wielding yakuza in the nude. The fight scene is creative and well choreographed, with Ike battling furiously in the snow. One extended shot of only feet, shadows, and falling limbs is particularly impressive. Only the incredible nude battle in 1970’s Zatoichi and the Fire Festival is its equal, though to more comic effect.

Swedish star Christina Lindberg (Thriller aka They Call Her One Eye) makes the most of her part, considering her limited range and the necessity of performing in awkward phonetic English and Japanese. Whatever problems her presence creates are more than compensated for by her enjoyably melodramatic storyline, Cinderella outfits, and a very sexy scene late in the film.

The only nits I have to pick are the expected ones. Films from Japan and Hong Kong have a repugnant habit of staging sexual assaults for the purpose of titillation, and Sex and Fury is no exception. Also, there is an extended S&M scene that lacks appeal for non-enthusiasts. Fortunately, the foregoing scenes form only a small part of the goings-on, and not nearly enough to ruin one’s enjoyment of the film. Of course, it goes without saying that Sex and Fury is not for everyone. The only other minor issue is that the score is not as good as one expects from films of this period – it ranges between lounge piano and jam band, and evokes both Barbarella and Jimi Hendrix, but frequently undercuts the action on screen.

Overall, Sex and Fury is a superior bit of entertainment. It’s a great example of its time and genre. For those interested in more films on a similar wavelength, Sex and Fury is not quite up to the level of the first Lady Snowblood, the first two Female Convict Scorpion films, or the first three Lone Wolf & Cub films, but is superior to the later entries in all three of those series, as well as to the Hanzo the Razor trilogy.

P.S. Music and Book of the day to come later...gotta go take the frogs for a walk...love

Sex And Fury-Opening Credits

2011-11-16T14:18:00.000-08:00

11/15/11 Book of the Day: Pop. 1280

2011-11-15T15:58:00.000-08:00

Pop. 1280 by Jim Thompson is funny as hell...and the way Thompson makes you actually come to like and care for this sleaze ball sheriff is genius...
The writing is super exciting and spot on. And it trashes humanity brilliantly. I mean, it really makes us humans look like a whole buncha assholes.

"POP. 1280 is a novel published in 1964. The book inspired the french director Bertrand Tavernier for his movie COUP DE TORCHON in 1981.

Texas, just before WWI. Sherif Nick Corey is despised by the people of Potts County although he avoids trouble and never arrests anyone. He hates his wife as much as she hates him and must tolerate her half-witted brother who's a peeping Tom. Little by little, Nick is imagining a plot that could eliminate all the people who are harassing him. Firstly, he will secretly get rid of the two pimps of the local brothel and make another sheriff look like the murderer. Nick begins to believe that he's the second Messiah and that he has been sent to Pottsville to eliminate the scum of the earth.

Without a doubt, a masterpiece."
Daniel Staebler, Resident Scholar

And about Jim Thompson from Wikipedia:

James Myers Thompson (September 27, 1906, Anadarko, Oklahoma Territory – April 7, 1977, Los Angeles, California) was an American author and screenwriter, known for his pulp crime fiction.

Thompson wrote more than thirty novels, the majority of which were original paperback publications by pulp fiction houses, from the late-1940s through mid-1950s. Despite some positive critical notice, notably by Anthony Boucher in The New York Times, he was little-recognized in his lifetime. Only after death did Thompson's literary stature grow, when in the late 1980s, several novels were re-published in the Black Lizard series of re-discovered crime fiction.

Thompson's writing culminated in a few of his best-regarded works: The Killer Inside Me, Savage Night, A Hell of a Woman and Pop. 1280. In these works, Thompson turned the derided pulp genre into literature and art, featuring unreliable narrators, odd structure, and surrealism.^{[citation needed]} A number of Thompson's books became popular films, including The Getaway and The Grifters.

The writer R.V. Cassill has suggested that of all pulp fiction, Thompson's was the rawest and most harrowing; that neither Dashiell Hammett nor Raymond Chandler nor even Horace McCoy, author of the bleak They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, ever "wrote a book within miles of Thompson".^[1] Similarly, in the introduction to Now and on Earth, Stephen King says he most admires Thompson's work because "The guy was over the top. The guy was absolutely over the top. Big Jim didn't know the meaning of the word stop. There are three brave lets inherent in the forgoing: he let himself see everything, he let himself write it down, then he let himself publish it."^[2]

Thompson admired Fyodor Dostoyevsky and was nicknamed "Dimestore Dostoevsky" by writer Geoffrey O'Brien. Film director Stephen Frears, who directed an adaptation of Thompson's The Grifters as 1990's The Grifters, also identified elements of Greek tragedy^[3] in his themes.

p.s. thank ya'll so much for your patience while I've been reconstructing this website. I was struggling to get the format right. So, thank you. Plus, me'n Ramona been sick. And I'll start responding to comments now, as well. Sorry...it's been a rough week. But, anyway, check out all the stuff from today 11/15/11...that's Fassbinder, Jim Thompson, and the Bowell Sisters. Welcome to life inside my crazy head. Like Marc Bolan says, and I said before, "deep in my heart, there's a house, that can hold, just about all of youz..."

word...

A Date With Nic Sheff

12/16/11 Music of the Day: The Kinks

The Kinks - Have a Cuppa Tea, 1972

The Kinks - Dead End Street

Kinks - Sunny Afternoon (RARE 1966 clip)

Holiday ~ The Kinks ~ Live 1973

The Kinks - Waterloo Sunset

fats waller - your feet's too big

Honeysuckle Rose,Fats Waller

12/15/11 Music of the Day: Fats Waller

Battle Royale Trailer

12/13/11 Movie of the Day: Battle Royale

Could you kill your best friend?

the G.O.A.S.T.T. Comic Strip Serge Gainsbourg cover

SERGE GAINSBOURG-Senic Railway

Serge Gainsbourg featuring Brigitte Bardot - Comic Strip (1968)

le poinçonneur des Lilas. GAINSBOURG.

Serge Gainsbourg - La Javanaise (inédit)

12/12/11 Music of the Day: SERGE GAINSBOURG

12/8/11 Book of the Day: Straight Life: The Story of Art Pepper

Straight Life: The Story of Art Pepper

12/7/11 Movie of the Day: The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T

Is it Atomic?.avi

5000 Fingers Of Dr. T, The (Dr. Seuss) - Trailer (1953)

12/7/11 Movie of the Day: The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T

12/6/11 Music of the Day: Raymond Scott (Manhattan Research, Inc.) - Good Air (1953)

12/6/11 Music of the Day: Raymond Scott...Twilight in Turkey by Raymond Scott 1961

The Raymond Scott Quintette - Powerhouse

12/6/11 Music of the Day: Raymond Scott

12/5/11 Movie of the Day: The Bad Seed

The Bad Seed (1956) - Original Theatrical Trailer

12/5/11 Movie of the Day: The Bad Seed

The Bad Seed

12/3/11 Music of the Day: Jacques Dutronc

Jacques Dutronc - Et moi,et moi,et moi 1966 Par Mitchou.mpg

12/2/11 Book of the Day: The Story of O

Plot

11/30/11 Music of the Day: Whodini

Whodini - Freaks come out at Night (original)

Race With The Devil (1975) Original Theatrical Movie Trailer

Dirty Mary Crazy Larry (1974) Original Theatrical Trailer I

11/29/11 Movie of the Day: Double Feature: Dirty Mary/Crazy Larry and Race With the Devil

COMPUTER LOVE LIVE 1981

KRAFTWERK - THE MODEL

Kraftwerk - The Robots

11/28/11 Music of the Day: KRAFTWERK

11/27/11 Book of the Day: We Have Always Lived in the Castle

We Have Always Lived in the Castle

Major themes

Grey Gardens

Grey Gardens Clip

11/22/11 Movie of the Day: Grey Gardens (1975)

Reviews

Grey Gardens

Biz Markie - 'Just A Friend' (Music Video)

FANTASTIC PLANET

Fantastic Planet (Meditation Scene)

11/21/11 Movie of the Day: Le Planet Sauvage

The Shirelles - Mamma Said

The Shirelles - Will You Love Me Tomorrow (Live, 1964)

11/19/11 Music of the Day: the Shirelles

The Shirelles

Photo courtesy bsnpubs.comFlorence Greenberg

photo courtesy bsnpubs.comThe Shirelles and Luther Dixon

Shirelles and Murray the K

Valley Girl Montage-1983

11/18/11 Movie of the Day: Valley Girl

11/17/11 Book of the Day: GEEK LOVE

Family Circus: Katherine Dunn's Geek Love

11/17/11 Music of the Day: Patsy Cline

Patsy Cline

Patsy Cline (Video) "Walkin' After Midnight" Full Ver.

Patsy Cline - Blue Moon Of Kentucky

Patsy Cline - I Fall To Pieces

11/17/11 Movie of the Day: The Busby Berkeley Disc

Spin a Little Web of Dreams (Busby Berkeley)

Gold Diggers of 1933 - Shadow Waltz

By A Waterfall (1933) - Choreography by Busby Berkeley

11/16/11 Book of the Day: DOPEFIEND

Death

Photo courtesy bsnpubs.com
Florence Greenberg

photo courtesy bsnpubs.com
The Shirelles and Luther Dixon